All We Know Is Falling
by plays-with-stars
Summary: Sequel to Fall to Pieces Years have past since Jackson Rippner met his daughter. This time Jackson has no intention of letting go of what's his.
1. I miss you more than I did yesterday

_13 years in the future_

Alexis turned in her sleep feeling quite restless. The past couple of nights she'd been having the same dream over and over again. In it, there was only one man, a virtual stranger and her mother. She never saw his face but her mother was obviously distraught. It never lasted for very long but she couldn't figure out why it was reoccurring. She didn't know where she would have conjured this mystery man. She didn't have time to ponder it because her mother's yelling interrupted her thoughts.

"Alexis, this is the last time I'm telling you to get up."

Alexis moaned and threw off her blankets. _Crap, now I'm running late._ She got dressed quickly and hurried downstairs where her mother was waiting for her.

* * *

"Glad to see you finally decided to wake up."

"It's not like I had really choice." Alexis grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and a box of cereal to eat fast before leaving. "I'm sure you weren't planning on letting me stay home from school" Alexis managed between bites of her cereal.

"Your father left early for work so you're going to have to take the bus today."

"Why can't you take me?" Alexis complained. She hated the bus. "And I don't know why you insist on calling him my father." Alexis answered back bitterly.

Here Lisa thought Alexis attitude and stubbornness would only get better as she got older. In reality it had only gotten worse since she entered the dreaded teen years. Alexis thought she knew everything and couldn't be told differently. Lisa had started letting Alexis make her own mistakes and hopefully learn something from them.

"See this is exactly why we waited to tell you. We thought once you were older you would understand."

"All that you've told me so far _Mother_, was that Landon isn't my real father."

"Technically that's true. But does it really matter if he shares DNA with you. He's the person that gotten up with you when you were sick, he was there for all your birthdays and celebrations and he really loves you."

"I just want to know more. I don't know his name or even what he looks like. Maybe he also would have been there for me growing up if you would have let him." Alexis paused to let her argument sink in and then slammed her empty bowl into the sink "I bet you didn't even tell him about me."

"We've been through this before Alexis." Lisa calmly stated having gone over this many times since telling her daughter. She understood her daughter was upset but there was no way she was telling her daughter about Jackson "Your biological father is a very dangerous man. You're better off not knowing anything about him. I just wish you could understand that."

"All I understand right now is that you've been lying to me for my whole life." Alexis stated before running off to find her book bag." "And Mom, If he's so dangerous, then why were you even with him? She asked as she grabbing her book bag off the floor and heading for the door.

"Landon loves you. Doesn't that matter to you at all?" Lisa demanded quickly changing the subject. She couldn't exactly tell her thirteen year old that she wasn't really with him and actually didn't have much choice in the matter but that would bring up even more unwanted questions.

"I guess but that doesn't change the fact that I still want to meet my real father." Alexis yelled back to her mother before opening the door to leave.

"Sorry, Alexis but that's will never happen. You can be angry all you want but your father and I are just trying to protect you."

"He's not my father. I don't even know anything about my father thanks to you." She said, hurrying towards the bus stop and slamming the door behind her.

Lisa wished she could get Alexis to understand. She thought, as she got older it would get better but she seemed to only be getting more and more rebellious. Because of this new revelation see could see Alexis' relationship with Landon becoming strained.

Alexis walked away from the house feeling angry and confused. She hated fighting with her mother but it was beginning to turn into a regular occurrence. Everything had been fine until her mom had to go and ruin it by telling her the truth about her secret past. But on the other hand she felt like her mother was being unfair by keeping the knowledge of who her father was from her.

Wiping the tears away that had formed in her eyes she looked down at her watch. _Shit _All that fighting with her mother this morning had made her miss the bus. Pride determined her next course of action and she decided to walk the rest of the rest of the way rather than turn around and ask her mother for a ride. She'd rather be late than let her mother know she needed her for anything.

* * *

By the time she finally arrived at school first period had already started. Alexis threw her backpack and coat inside and quickly grabbed her necessary books and hurried down the hall to her classroom.

Her teacher was in the middle of a lecture when she walked inside.

"Miss Foster, I'm so glad you finally decided to grace us with your presence." Her teacher turned from the chalkboard to face her.

Alexis had hoped to be able to slide into the classroom unnoticed. How exactly had he know it was her with his back turned.

"I'm sorry." she said, taking her seat near the back of the room. "I won't be late again."

"You better make sure of that. Next time it will be a detention."

"Yes, sir" Alexis slouched in her seat feeling embarrassed to have been singled out in front of the whole class.

After an uneventful lesson the bell rang and Alexis felt relieved to finally be able to leave the classroom.

"We'll continue onto chapter five tomorrow. Class dismissed except for Miss Foster." Alexis hesitated at the door, her body tensing knowing that she was going to be in some kind of trouble. At least he waited until everyone left to talk to her. When he approached her he had his arms folding across his chest. Nothing good was going to come from this conversation she could tell.

"This is the second time we've had this discussion. Your tardiness is becoming a problem. "

Alexis adjusted the books in her arms that had suddenly become very heavy "I swear it won't happen again Mr. Carter."

"I'm certain you have a reason as to why you were late? Care to explain what's so much more important than my class?"

"It had a fight with my mom over something stupid and I ended up missing the bus because of it. I'm sure you don't want to hear it about it." Alexis looked down towards her shoes while talking to avoid having to make eye contact. There was something she found unnerving about her psychology teacher. Perhaps it was his eyes. So stunningly blue though quite similar to hers.

"I…um… have to get to my next class" Alexis managed to get out as she summoned the courage to speak up once more.

"Fine, we're done here." He said as he opened the classroom door for her.

Alexis started walking down the hallway and turned back when she heard her Mr. Carter's voice yet again.

"Oh and Miss Foster, I expect you on time for my class from now on."

"I know!" Alexis said without turning back and hurried down the hallway towards her next class.


	2. I never said this would be easy

A/N Short author's note because I'm failing math and should probably be studying for my test right now. I wanted to say thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks to emptyvoices with her help in editing this chapter. Remember to review it'll make me happy.

Disclaimer: I don't own the paramore lyrics in the title. Nor the ones in the chapters 3-11 and 13.

* * *

The rest of the morning had thankfully been uneventful for Alexis. By the time lunchtime came around she was happy to be able to have her friends to talk to.

After grabbing some food she took her regular seat beside her best friend, Emily and scowled in distaste at the unappetizing meal.

"So Lex, you're in a crappy mood. What's up?" Her friend, Alyssa turned towards her.

"It's just my mom and I had a fight this morning and I missed the bus." she explained before taking a bit of the sandwich on her tray. "It's not a big deal"

"Don't you have Mr. Carter first period?"

"Yeah."

"Damn, I'd hate to be late for any of his classes."

"Yeah, I have him at the end of the day and he definitely creeps me out sometimes."

"I know what you mean and I wouldn't have been late if it wasn't for my mom being so unreasonable."

"Well why don't you tell us what you were fighting about and we'll decide that." Abby attempted to joke with her in an attempt to cheer her up.

"My mother's still refusing to let me see my real dad or even tell me anything about him. She's being so unfair"

"Yeah, who keeps their daughter away from their real father? She could at least give you more information about him." Emily replied getting up to empty her tray.

"Exactly." Alexis answered. "I just wish my parents would see it that way."

The bell signaling the end of the lunch period rang cutting her friend short.

"I'll catch up with you later, okay. You better get going so you won't be late to another class again."

Alexis felt a little better about the situation since she talked it over with her friends. The rest of the day went slowly and she couldn't wait to leave once the final bell rang. Quickly throwing her books into her backpack she slammed the door to her locker shut and went to catch the bus outside.

Arriving back at her house Alexis unlocked the door letting herself in.

"I'm home!"

_That is if anyone cares. _She shrugged guessing that nobody was home. _And if no one is home, they won't care if I do a little digging for information about my father._

Alexis quickly discarded her backpack by the door and proceeded to the study that her father used when he was working at home. She really wasn't supposed to go in there. _What could be a better place to hide information they don't want me to see?_

She opened the door slightly to make sure her father wasn't in there working. Seeing the room was empty she slipped inside. His desk was the first place she started to search. There had to be some kind information about her real father in the house. Maybe a letter he wrote to her mother at some point that she kept. She had been told many times that he wasn't a good man but Alexis determined that her mother must have had some kind of relationship with him.

Alexis was too caught up in rifling through the papers in the desk drawers to realize somebody had come home.

Landon walked into the house finishing early with work, which was something that didn't happen very often. Seeing Alexis' backpack on the floor by the door, he started wandering through the house looking for her. He stopped outside his study seeing the door partially open knowing he shut it last night.

Hearing the door creak open Alexis quickly shoved the papers she had been looking at back in the desk drawer and stood up quickly from the desk. Her heart raced as she tried to maintain an expression of innocence.

Landon strode into the room and looked at Alexis, quietly waiting for an explanation.

"Dad you're home early. I ummm thought I left one of my textbooks in here but I guess not."

"Lex, is that really what you're doing in here?" He folded his arms across his chest.

"No, but it sounds better than the truth."

"You wouldn't happen to be trying to find out information about a certain somebody would you?" Landon made his way closer to Alexis

"How did you know?"

"Your mother told me about the fight you had this morning."

"Look I don't hate you if that's what she told you." Alexis quickly became defensive.

"I know. You were just angry. I would feel the same way. But your mother and I are really just trying to protect you. If your father had been someone else, anyone else, then I'm sure your mother would have no problems with giving you all the details."

"I know." Although she truly didn't. "I'm sorry I went through your stuff." Alexis suddenly felt a pang of regret as she started to walk over to the door.

"Why don't you get started on your homework? Your mother should be home from work soon."

"Alright," picking up her backpack from beside the front door she hurried up the stairs to her bedroom.


	3. I can't pretend that I don't see this

_One week later_

Alexis had succeeded in keeping her promise to come on time to class from then on. But if it wasn't for being late, it always seemed to be something else she was doing wrong. If she didn't know any better she'd say her teacher was singling her out from everyone else and Wednesday morning was no different.

"Class, please pass your essays on Freud to the front so I can collect them."

_Shit_. That paper had been assigned over two weeks ago and she keep putting it off and now she had forgotten it was due today. _Great! Another reason for him to hate me_.

Quickly shuffling through the papers as he collected them, he noticed that Alexis' row was short a paper.

"Miss Foster, your report seems to be missing."

"I know. I... I … umm," she bit her lip and tried to think up a good reason why she didn't do that stupid paper. _Or I could simply tell him the truth_. "I forgot about it."

"Did you not have ample time to complete the assignment?"

"Yes." _Why does he insist on making me look like an idiot in front of the whole class. Couldn't he have waited until after class to ask where my paper was? _

"Detention, Miss Foster, today-- after school. You were late to my class last week and now you're not completing your assignments."

Gathering the remaining papers he placed them on the corner of his desk and turned back to the chalkboard.

"On Tuesday we left off on chapter 8, please open your textbooks to page 180."

Alexis couldn't care less about the lesson Mr. Carter was trying to teach at the point. She was too mad right now to pay attention to him or anything else. As if she really wanted to spend even more time at school, especially with him. It was her fault for not doing the assignment but he didn't have to give her detention for it.

* * *

The end of the day normally would have excited her if she was able to leave. Grabbing the stuff she needed out of her locker she proceeded to Mr. Carter's classroom_. Might as well get this over with. _

Walking down the hallway she turned around hearing someone yell for her.

"Hey Lex, wait up!" Emily was running to catch up with her.

"A group of us are going to the mall now. I was wondering if you wanted to come."

"I would but I can't." Alexis felt gravely disappointed as she started walking again. The last thing she needed was to show up late.

"Why not?" Emily asked following her. "You love shopping and I'm sure your mom won't mind. Just tell her that your with me."

"It's not that I don't want to go Em and I don't really feel like asking my mom for anything right now. I didn't do a paper for my psych class and now I have detention." Alexis didn't even bother to conceal rolling her eyes at the comment.

"Mr. Carter really has it out for you, doesn't he? You always seem to be in some kind of trouble with him."

"Yeah, I know. I can't wait until the year is over and I won't have to deal with him ever again." Finally reaching the classroom, she stood outside pausing to look at Emily regretfully before going in.

"Sorry, you can't come. I'll call you later." Emily sprinted towards the parking lot and Alexis sighed in frustration. _What else could go wrong today?_

* * *

Opening the door, she walked inside and Alexis saw the room was completely empty except for her teacher who hadn't seemed to have taken notice of her entry. She quietly sat down at a desk near the front and pulled out her math book to do the night's homework.

Looking up from his stack of papers he was grading he acknowledged Alexis' presence with a slight nod.

"I'm glad you made it, Miss Foster."

"Not like I had a choice." Alexis mumbled to herself.

"Something you would like to share?" he asked, sarcasm grating in his tone.

"No." Alexis opened her textbook to the proper page. Maybe if she at least attempted to look busy he would leave her alone.

Setting his pen on top of his grade book he rose from his chair moving to stand in front of his desk casually leaning against it.

"Alexis is there anything you would like to share with me that might explain your behavior recently?"

"No, I just forgot about the paper. There's no big secret. " Brushing his question off she turned back to the problems in her textbook.

"Alexis, do you really have math homework or are you just trying to ignore me?"

"Both" Alexis muttered not looking up from the textbook "It may have something to do with the fact that I don't really want to be here in the first place."

"Something's obviously bothering you. Maybe you'll feel better after you talk to about it so we can come to an understanding."

"What's the point? So you can analyze me? Have something new to tell my parents that the teachers haven't already shared. Detention doesn't require me to talk to you, just to be here."

"Alright but you still have almost an hour left of detention so if you change your mind…" He walked back around to his chair, sitting down he resumed grading the papers that were turned in earlier.

As Alexis' detention came close to ending she began packing her homework into her backpack.

"I'll make you a deal" Mr. Carter said looking at his watch and crossing his arms against his chest. "You be honest with me about what's going on and I'll give you a chance to redo the paper you forgot about."

"Well…" Alexis contemplated that would be simpler to explain to her parents then why she got a zero on an assignment she had plenty of time to complete. "Okay I was late the other week because I had a bad fight with my mother about a secret she's been keeping from me and as for the paper, I really did just forget."

"And why couldn't this argument wait until after school?" His tone became softer as he took the seat beside her desk.

"It's kind of personal!" Alexis was getting defensive.

"You know I may understand more than you think," he said standing to pack up his briefcase. "I happen to have a daughter."

"You have daughter?" Alexis was skeptical. Mr. Carter really didn't seem like the father type.

"Well technically. I haven't seen her since she was three until just recently. She's your age now actually. Her mother's very protective and won't let her near me. " _Or at least she thinks she's doing a good job being protective. _

"Sounds like my mother." Alexis said sounding annoyed and slinging her backpack over her shoulder before she walked towards the door. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow Mr. Carter."

He nodded, observing her with interest as she retreated from the classroom.

* * *

Alexis walked home hoping she wouldn't have to give much of an explanation for being home late. If she was lucky nobody would be back from work yet and she could just pretend she'd been home the entire time. But upon coming closer to her house and seeing cars in the driveway she knew that wouldn't work.

"Alexis, we were beginning to worry." her mother exclaimed as soon she stepped onto the front porch.

"I had a group project I had to stay after for." She hoped her parents wouldn't question her excuse further.

"What subject?" Her mother asked.

"What?"

"What subject is the project for?" her father repeated studying Alexis' reaction.

"Ummm.. History"

"And does what does this project entail?"

Well Alexis hadn't that that far ahead yet. She didn't think her father would want such detailed information about her lie. Alexis determined her father was onto her lie and decided to come clean rather than compounding the damage already done.

"Okay, there was no project. I had to stay after school for detention, happy?"

"For what?" her mother appeared shocked. With the exception of some minor teacher disputes, Alexis was usually a pretty good student.

"I forgot to do an assignment for my psych class and I'm also pretty sure the teacher is singling me out."

"Maybe I should go talk to him." her mother offered as she finished setting the table for dinner.

"Mom, I'm a teenager now I think I can handle it on my own, okay?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to…"

"I'm fine mom, don't worry so much." Alexis grabbed her backpack, retreating up to her room before dinner.


	4. Forget the things we swore we meant

Alexis sat in her room with her textbooks opened on her bed around her. She was feeling like she was spending a lot more time in her room and away from people since she found out about Landon not being her true father. It made her so different from all the other kids at school and Alexis knew she was probably blowing this way out of proportion but it was a big deal to her. She become less extroverted and began to withdraw more into herself.

Everybody noticed especially her close friends. They didn't stop bugging her about what was wrong until she finally relented and told them. She made them promise that they wouldn't tell anyone. She already felt different being alone with this knowledge and she didn't really feel like being the topic of discussion and rumor. Her sudden changes in personality without an explanation gave her peers reason enough to whisper and speculate what had happened. School had recently become one of her least favorite places to be.

"Landon, I'm worried about Alexis." Lisa hastily finished adding the last ingredient to the casserole she was making.

"What do you mean?"

"Well since we told her the truth she just so detached. Her personality has completely changed."

"She just found out. Give her some time to adjust to the idea. Things will be okay. I promise." He hugged her from behind and lightly kissed her cheek.

"I hope so. Maybe she'd feel better about the idea if we told her everything."

"Leese, Alexis might think she's an adult but she's still a child and you want to tell her the details of that flight and how you got pregnant unwillingly" Landon asked shocked and a little upset that Lisa would think that was a good idea. He was trying to shelter his little girl from all the ugly, adult stuff as long as possible and here she was ready to lay it all out for her. "And you know if Alexis knows his name no matter what he's done, she's going to want to go looking for him. Now do you really want her trying to track down Jackson Rippner?"

Lisa subconsciously cringed a bit at the mention of his name but regained her composure. "Well I know she doesn't remember much if anything from when she was younger. Maybe if we were open with her, she'd understand."

"As much as you would like to believe that would solve everything it would probably just make things worse. It was a traumatic experience for you and it's probably for the best that Lex doesn't remember really any of it. Why go bringing it up? Things are going to be fine. Just trust me, okay?"

"Well, I still want to go meet with Alexis' teacher. At least, I can figure out why he's singling her out and giving her detentions. Maybe we can work together to figure out why Alexis to get her back on track and stop doing poorly."

"Leese…" Landon said with a disapproving look upon his face. "While I know you mean well, Alexis did ask you not to get involved."

"And when did you become so concerned with what she wants?" Lisa folded her arms across her chest, gazing at him mockingly.

"I'm just saying you think we have problems now, they'll just get worse if she finds out you went behind her back when she asked you not to."

"Then, I just have to make sure she doesn't find out." A small smile appeared on her face.

Their conversation was abruptly halted when they heard footsteps on the stairs in the next room. Alexis walked into the kitchen feeling like she had interrupted something. She quickly looked to both of her parents to see if she could figure out the reason for their sudden silence bit if anything had happened, they were doing a very good job of hiding it.

"I was just coming to see if dinner was ready." Alexis looked at them suspiciously. She know something was going on and was determined to find out eventually what they were hiding.

Mr. Carter was just coming home to an empty house not far from the local high school and decided it had been a good day. His entire plan that he initiated by going through the trouble of obtaining false teacher credentials and new identification was working better than he expected. He would slowly gain her trust in time. _She's far too old to fall for the lost puppy dog trick again. _

The fact that Alexis and her parents weren't getting along well at the moment could only work to his advantage. _She's really was growing into a beautiful woman. Alexis looks just like her mother._ This time would be different, this time he would succeed. He had no intention of involving Lisa as she always seemed to disrupt his carefully laid out plans.

He wanted so bad to make Lisa suffer for everything terrible she had caused in his life following the Red Eye flight. He realized however that she was too smart and independent for him to control. She always seemed to find a way to win him over and now he was going to make sure that this time she regretted it.

If he couldn't have Lisa all to himself he knew he could surely control a thirteen year old who just so happened to be his own daughter. Especially now that he knew that she was yearning to meet her real father who her mean mother kept her away from. Lisa was unable to be deterred by threats as they never seemed to have any kind of impact with her. She was too strong willed for such things. If there was any trouble a young girl though would heed his warnings of behaving for him or something tragic just might happen to her dear parents.

What better way to hurt Lisa but to take away the one person that mattered the most to her?

And this time he was sure he would not fail.


	5. And I won't let you fall away

"Alexis, school" Lisa yelled up the stairs before going back into the kitchen.

Alexis woke up, startled by her mother's cry momentarily unable to register it within her mind. Her textbook still lay open on her bed and she realized she fell asleep in the midst of studying. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep and forget about school and the homework that lay half done on her bed. _At least it's not for my psychology class._

"You don't want to be late again" her mother was sounding annoyed by the fact that she hadn't come downstairs yet.

Rolling out of bed she stumbled down the stairs still clad in her pajamas from the night before.

Lisa examined her daughter wondering why she wasn't already dressed.

"I'm sick, can't go to school today." _What a shame_.

Lisa could see my past her daughter's lie of being sick. She had been sixteen once too and Lisa would be lying herself if she told Alexis she had never faked illness to get out of school.

"Alexis, I don't have time to deal with this today. Go upstairs and change before you miss the bus."

"But Mom…!"

"Upstairs, now!" Lisa's voice was rising.

"Fine!" Leaving the kitchen, she went upstairs in her room where she quickly dressed. Gathering the discarded homework off the bed she shoved it into her backpack and paused before leaving her room to pull back some of the curls that fell across her face.

"Lex, I'm leaving now. So if you're ready I can drop you off at school and you don't have to take the bus. I can't wait long though because I have an important meeting at the hotel this morning."

"No, I'm coming" Alexis ran down the stairs. She'd take any opportunity to get out of riding the bus. School with _those _kids was bad enough.

"But you haven't eaten breakfast or anything."

"I'm not hungry." she grabbed her sweatshirt off of a chair before following her mother out the door.

For not wanting to come to school today her morning had gone pretty well including her psychology class. Leaving her fourth period math class she hoped she could just make it to the cafeteria without anyone disturbing her. She'd grown used to most of the teasing from her peers because of her quiet manner.

Seeing two of the popular girls in her grade ahead of her in the hall whispering to each she knew it was mostly likely about her. If she didn't pay any attention to them maybe they will just go away.

Walking past them Alexis thought perhaps she was wrong and she was just being paranoid until her books were knocked to the floor by the girl closest to her.

"Oops, sorry," the girl laughed out of spite acting as though she had accidentally been pushed into her causing her books to fall.

"At least I'm not seen as the school slut" Alexis mumbled as she picked up her books from the floor.

"What was that Foster? Got something you want to say to me?"

"No, just trying to get to the cafeteria," She attempted to push past them.

"I don't think we were finished talking to you." the other girl said pushing her into the locker bank behind her. Alexis' left shoulder hit the locker and she attempted to move to the right but was blocked off. "Why don't you tell us why you've become such a freak and then we'll let you leave."

"Go to hell." Alexis was getting angry and she shoved the girl out of the way.

"You're going to regret that!" Alexis was propelled back into the locker and she flinched involuntarily as the girl got ready to punch her. Just as she was about ready to hit Alexis, a calm, authoritative voice interceded.

"Ladies, is there a problem out here that I should be aware of? You do know that fighting on school property is against the rules?" Mr. Carter stepping out into the hallway glared at the two girls accusingly. "It could get you suspended if a teacher saw reason to write it up."

"No problem. We were just leaving." Mr. Carter didn't miss the vicious glance the two girls gave Alexis as they drifted down the hallway.

Alexis bent down to pick up her books that had fallen to the ground. "Thanks." She whispered quietly when she walked past.

Mr. Carter nodded heading back into his classroom to finish the lesson plan he had been working on during his free period.

* * *

At lunchtime at the Lux Atlantic Lisa and Cynthia usually ate lunch together when they weren't too busy. Today Lisa wanted to use the lunch hour to deal with her daughter and school issues. After waiting on one last customer, Lisa turned to Cynthia who was beginning to take out her lunch to eat at her desk incase she needed to assist a guest.

"Sorry to leave you to eat by yourself today. I just really need to take care of something with Alexis' school."

"That's fine you go do what you need to do. I can handle the guests until you're done." She replied.

"Thanks, Cynthia. I'll just be in my office if you need anything." Gathering her lunch and her paperwork she intended to finish once done with her phone call.

Dialing the phone number, Lisa was able to reach the receptionist at the high school. "Hi, I need to speak to one of my daughter's teachers."

"What's the teacher name that you wish to speak to and I can see if he's available."

"His name is Mr. Carter and he teaches 11th and 12th grade psychology."

"Please hold. I'll see if he's able to take your call."

As the secretary rang his classroom, Mr. Carter had just stepped out to go pick up a stack of exams that he was having photocopied for next week.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Carter must have stepped out of the classroom for a minute. Would you like to leave a message?" she asked cheerfully pulling out a notepad and a pen.

"Sure. My name's Lisa Foster and I would just like to speak to him about my daughter, Alexis."

"Is there a phone number where you can be reached?"

"My work number for the Lux Atlantic and my home number should be on file with him."

"Thank you for calling Mrs. Foster. I'll make sure he gets the message."

At the end of day, Alexis had avoided any further trouble and was more than ready to leave. Walking past the office to get to her locker, she saw Mr. Carter was standing at the counter talking to the secretary and she reflected about what he did for her earlier that day._ Maybe he's not so bad after all _

"As I was saying Mr. Carter a parent called to talk to you today but you must have stepped out of your classroom."

"Was there a message?" he inquired.

"Yes, her name's Lisa Foster. She wanted to talk to you about her daughter Alexis." The receptionist retrieved the message and handed it to him.

He suddenly became very attentive at the mention of her mother's name_. She can't come here and meet with me! That would ruin everything! _Lisa would call the police and disappear with Alexis in the effort to keep her safe.

_Or maybe I could use this to my advantage._

If he knew anything about teenagers, he would bet Alexis asked her mother not to get involved and if Alexis were to find out about her mother's attempt to circumvent her, it would cause an even bigger rift between mother and daughter.

_But who would do a terrible thing like that?_ He chuckled to himself.

Wondering if Alexis had left already for the day, he proceeded to make his way over to where her locker was located.

"Miss Foster" he raised his voice in order to get her attention.

Hearing her name she looked up to see Mr. Carter walking quickly towards her.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked nervously

"No, not at all."

She breathed a small sigh of relief. She didn't want to have to explain any further problems she had at school to her parents.

"I just wanted you to give your mother a message." He toyed with the paper in his right hand.

"My mother?" Alexis appeared perplexed.

"Yes, she left a message for me while I was out of the classroom."

"I can't believe it. You mean, she went ahead and called you even though I told her not to." Alexis felt indignant trying to suppress the anger that was rising in her chest.

"Tell your mother that if this is about my giving you a detention, according to school policy, I have the right to assign such a consequence since obviously didn't complete your work on time. I don't think we need a meeting over that, do you Alexis?" He already knew what her answer would be. He also knew she was going to go home and be enraged at her mother for calling the school behind Alexis' back. He was confident that Alexis would make sure Lisa didn't try to make any more pointless meeting with him that could destroy his well laid out plans.

"No, I'll see to it that there will be no other calls in the future." Slamming her locker shut, she started to walk away.

"See you in class tomorrow, Miss Foster."

"Yeah," Alexis turned around "and thanks again for earlier today."

"Don't let those kids bother you. Things will improve, trust me. I went through a great deal of teasing in high school too." He maintained the look of a supportive teacher.

Alexis nodded her head and smiled before she walked down the hallway, hoping she could still catch her bus.

When she came home, she hurried up the steps to the front door, slamming it shut once she was inside.

"Mom!" she dropped her heavy backpack to the floor.

"Yes, Alexis what's wrong?" Lisa ran into the kitchen from the living room.

"I trusted you, but you did it anyway. Don't you care that the kids at my school already think I'm different? Now they can all hear that I need my _mommy_ to solve my problems." She ran up the stairs not giving her a chance to reply.

"Alexis, wait" Her mother followed her up the stairs, only to have the bedroom door slammed in her face. "Alexis, please. I was only trying to help"

"I don't need your help! Just go away!" Alexis yelled through the door before she turned on loud music to drown out her mother's protests.

After Alexis' little outburst Lisa leaned against the doorway berating herself thinking that Landon had been right. She should have never tried to get involved.


	6. This isn't what you wanted

A/N New corrected chapter, no major changes though. Thanks to emptyvoices for her help once again. And thanks to the people who reviewed chapter five.

* * *

Alexis woke up to the annoying sound of her alarm and fought the urge to throw the clock against the wall. She felt restless and tired from not sleeping well the night before. She was still mad at her mother for going behind her back the previous day. She wasn't some little kid that needed her parents to swoop in to the rescue and fix everything. She could have handled it on her own. Things even seemed to have been getting a little better in class.

Dragging herself to the bathroom she took a quick shower and then finished getting ready for school. She was purposely lingering upstairs, stalling from the obvious confrontation that awaited her. Alexis planned to remain until her mother had left for work before going downstairs. She didn't feel like facing her and hearing anything she had to say at this point.

Peering out the window and noticing that her mother's car was gone; she grabbed her backpack by her desk and walked down the stairs to grab something to eat for breakfast. Seizing an apple from the table she was preparing to take a bite when she heard her name and spun around.

"Yeah?" She played with the piece of fruit in her hand.

"Your mother and I were talking last night about what happened yesterday."

"And I hope the fact that she should've never gotten involved came up at some point?" She headed for the door in hopes of avoiding the conversation.

"Alexis, wait." He grabbed her arm to halt her progression.

Pausing, she turned to face her father.

"I don't care what she said to you. She was wrong to go behind my back."

"Maybe, but she was just trying to help. She's really upset that you're angry with her"

"It's her fault. We wouldn't even be having this conversation if she would have just listened to what I wanted!"

"I want you to apologize to your mother for your little outburst last night." He said calmly

"No." She jerked away from him.

"I'm not finished." He blocked the front door.

"I'm not apologizing to her. It should be the other way around." She crossed her arms across her chest in stubborn refusal.

"I think you're overreacting so you can either tell your mother you're sorry or your grounded for this coming weekend."

"What! You can't do that. I have plans with Emily this weekend. You already said I could go."

"I guess you'll just have to tell her you can't make it." He attempted to maintain his authoritative tone but he simply wasn't very good at maintaining discipline. Usually Lisa took charge of that since Alexis seemed to have greater respect for her authority.

"This is so unfair. She's the one who did something wrong and I'm the one that gets in trouble for it?" She pushed past him to get to the door.

Aware that he had already caused enough problems with his daughter and not wishing to make them any worse, he stepped aside. As soon as he did, Alexis pulled the door open and then slammed it shut behind her.

Nothing in her life seemed to be going right anymore. If her mom would have just left things alone she wouldn't be in trouble. Landon wasn't even her real father. Who did he think he was trying to ground her? She'd been looking forward to those plans with Emily since they made them two weeks ago. There was no way she was just going to cancel because of something her mother did to her.

* * *

Arriving at the bus stop, she was happy that she didn't miss it this time due to the fight. She would have rather had Landon drive her but her pride was too strong to even pose the question to him.

Stepping onto to the bus, she immediately looked for an empty seat. She detested riding the bus now because it just made her feel more like an outcast. Walking down the aisle she could see the students setting their backpacks next to them just to prevent her from being able to sit next to them.

Getting further towards the back one of the girls that had previously caused her to drop her books stuck her leg out causing her to trip and fall. Alexis heard the surrounding laughter as she struggled to get to her feet. _Stupid bitch._

The girls around her all laughed at the stunt.

_They get too much pleasure out of other people's pain and humiliation._ She kept her focus turned towards the window so she wouldn't have to deal with anyone until she got to school.

* * *

When the bus parked outside the school Alexis was quick to get off and into the building. Still angry but unable to do anything to stop the girls whom tormented her, Alexis took I it out on her locker slamming it shut. She entered her psych class early not wanting to be out in the hallway while all the other kids were socializing before 1st period started. Not realizing it, she let her books fall loudly onto her desk and sat down waiting for the rest of the class to arrive.

Hearing the sudden noise, Mr. Carter looked up from the papers he was grading on his desk.

"Is everything okay Miss Foster? You seem a little upset."

"I'm fine." Her tone however attested to the contrary.

"I don't think I believe you." He stood up, quietly approaching her.

"It's not a big deal. You wouldn't be interested."

"Let me be the judge of that. You'd probably feel better if you got it off your chest."

"Well it's just…." She tried to think up a way to sum up everything that had happened to her since yesterday. The harsh ringing of the bell signaling the start of the period cut her off mid sentence. "Never mind." She struggled to regain her composure as her classmates entered

_Damn it._ He glanced at the students entering the classroom_. I was so close to finding out more about her._ Then he smiled inwardly. _She'll tell me in time. If I push her too much, it'll ruin everything. She has to trust me. _


	7. Will you be there to help me through?

A/N New chapter to celebrate finals finally being over. I found out this week that my friends all hate Red Eye and think I'm like pyscho for having the movie poster in my dorm room. It's probably a good thing that they don't know I'm writing a story using that fandom. Thanks to emptyvoices for her help with editing this chapter. And thanks to Brego Beauty for her help with the flashback.

XXXX

Upon leaving her psychology class, Alexis spent the rest of the school day wishing that the bell hadn't interrupted her previous conversation. Recalling Mr. Carter's word, she was inclined to believe he was right about her needing to share what was troubling her. If she was able to talk to someone outside of her family or her friends about everything, perhaps she would feel better.

At the end of the day Emily came to meet Alexis at her locker so they could leave together. Her father may have tried to ground her but she wasn't going to let her plans get ruined so easily.

XXXXX

_Emily and Alexis had been best friends ever since they met in second grade. Alexis could still vividly remember the day that she had saved Emily from the cruel taunts of the other children._

_In the middle of their pack sat a frightened young girl who was trying her best to ignore their taunts simply because she was new and was different from the other children. All though she attempted to hide it from the other kids, she obviously was near tears. _

"_Hey! Leave her alone!" Alexis whom was witnessing the scene started elbowing her way into the center to stand beside the new girl._

"_Make us!" A boy stood in front of her; obviously the leader of the bullys._

_Alexis narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that a dare?"_

_Her unblinking stare unnerved the boy, who quickly looked away. His attention then focused on another kid he deemed worthy of torment..._

"_Thank you," the girl struggled to get to her feet._

"_No problem. Don't let them bother you. They're jerks to everybody anyway. My name's Alexis. What's yours?"_

"_Emily. I'm new here."_

"_Well I'll be your friend, I mean if you want." _

"_I would like that" Emily's smile overcame the preconceived gloom Alexis had seen earlier._

XXXXX

Grabbing her backpack Alexis was ready to leave but paused before entering the hallway, glancing at Mr. Carter's classroom. _Perhaps he won't mind if I stopped by._

"Hey Em, I think I forgot something I need in my locker. I'll just meet you at your house, alright?"

"I can wait if you want…"

"No, that's okay. It'll take me time to find it and I don't want you to have to wait." she said quickly.

"Well if you say so."

Not until Emily exited through the corridor did Alexis feel comfortable to head to Mr. Carter's classroom. She knocked quietly on the door hoping he was still there.

Setting his work down he got up to answer the door curious as to whom it was since most students had left for the day.

"Alexis, is something wrong? Shouldn't you be going home?"

"I…" She paused, searching for words. "I thought I left something at my desk."

"Now is that really why you're here?" he leaned against the door frame.

"Well no not really. I'm sorry I bothered you." _This was a bad idea. _Hurriedly, she turned to leave.

"Alexis if something's wrong you don't need to come up with an excuse to talk to me about it. That's what I'm here for."

"So I'm not hassling you?"

"No, why don't you come in and have a seat."

"Thanks." she slid past him into the classroom, sitting down in one of the desks near the front. "I'm just frustrated. My parents don't really understand my feelings and I don't know who else to talk to."

"I never really got along with my parents growing up either. I'm sure your parents think they're doing what's best for you." He smiled inwardly already knowing how overprotective Lisa could be.

"They could at least tell me something about him. Anything at all! I just feel like I'm missing out on something when they know all about him and I know nothing." She felt the rush of anger at her mother's apparent lack of openness with her.

"Who…?" he asked, prompting her

"My father, my _real_ father!" She wondered if maybe she shouldn't have told him. That was one more person who knew her secret and could tell everybody else.

_This should be easy_. Her strong urge to get to know her real father and her anger at her parents would help put things into motion.

"Promise you won't tell anybody?" she asked nervously.

"Of course. You can trust me." He leaned forward putting a consoling hand on her arm.

"If its any consolation, I'm sure your real father thinks about you just as much as you think about him."

"You really believe that?" she sounded hopeful.

"I know he does" His voice radiated confidence.

"I hope you're right."

Glancing at his watch, reluctant to end the conversation, he looked up at Alexis. "I'm sorry, Alexis but I have a meeting in about 10 minutes that I have to go to attend."

"Oh… that's fine. I told Emily I had left something in my locker and would meet her at her house anyway. Thank you for your help, Mr. Carter."

"Not at all. That's what I'm here for. I'll see you in class Monday. Have a good weekend." Grabbing his briefcase, he followed Alexis out of the room and making sure the door locked behind him.

XXXXX

Leaving school, Alexis headed to Emily's house. She was already grounded. What more could her parents do to her for disobeying. Arriving at the house, she knocked on the door and didn't wait long before Emily answered. The two of them would have the house to themselves for a couple hours before Emily's parents came home.

Discarding her stuff by the door, Alexis followed Emily to her room.

"So did you find what you forgot at school?" They both took a seat on Emily's bed.

"Yeah, it was in my locker" She felt badly about lying to her best friend especially since she was terrible at it.

"Lex, is something wrong? You just don't seem like yourself"

"I didn't really forget anything after school. I needed to take care of something and just needed you to leave. I'm sorry"

XXXXX

Lisa arrived home late from work and expected to find Landon and Alexis at home waiting for her. When she got home only her husband seemed to be around obviously working in his study since the light was on and the door was slightly open. She walked up the stairs to see if Alexis was in her room but found her room dark and empty. She didn't remember Alexis or Landon telling her about anything going on after school today. Rushing down the stairs to Landon's study, she appeared in the doorway clearly panicked.

"Oh, you're home." He looked up from the paperwork he had spread across the desk. "Something wrong Leese?"

"Maybe you didn't notice but Alexis isn't home yet. Am I forgetting her saying something about staying after school? Please tell me that I am." Lisa was beginning to worry, having flashbacks to that one terrible day when she went to pick Alexis up from preschool only to find that she had disappeared.

"No, she's supposed to be grounded but I've been in my study for the last couple hours so I thought she just took the bus home."

"Landon why aren't you more worried about her being missing?" Lisa felt herself getting angry.

"She's sixteen and probably just mad at me for grounding her this morning. She most likely just went to a friend's house."

"But Jackson…what if he tried something again. I can't stand the thought…"

"Lisa don't go jumping to conclusions and anyway she's older now and more able to defend herself."

XXXXX

"You didn't have to come over if you didn't want to." Emily shook her head in puzzlement.

"No, that's not it at all. You're one of my only friends. Of course I wanted to spend time with you."

"Then what is it?"

"After you left, I went to talk to Mr. Carter. I told him about everything that's being going on and that I wanted to know my real father."

"Why?" Emily was confused.

"I don't know. He just doesn't seem so bad and he understands my feelings. He told me he has a daughter too that he doesn't get to see much."

"You can always talk to me Lex"

"I know."

XXXXX

Frustrated with her husband, Lisa attempted to call Alexis' friends. She couldn't think of many friends her daughter had so she started with Emily since that was her best friend. When no one answered the phone, Lisa slammed the phone down on the counter.

"Damn it!" She made a mental note to herself to buy her daughter a cell phone but not until after Lisa finished yelling at her for her sudden disappearing act. Grabbing her car keys, she rushed out the door and headed to Emily's house.

XXXXX

Emily and Alexis were gossiping about a movie they both wanted to go see when Emily stood up from the bed.

Motioning Alexis over to the bedroom window, she pointed at the car that had just pulled into the driveway. "Lex isn't that your mom's car?"

"Shit!" Alexis ran out of the bedroom to the front door. Emily followed her friend confused by her reaction.

"Alexis your parents knew you were here didn't they?"

"Not exactly" she opened the door to reveal her mother.

"I know I should've have called. I'm sorry." Her mother came into the house, shutting the door behind her.

"Alexis, did you realize how worried I've been when you didn't come home from school? Your father didn't know where you were either and he mentioned to me the fact you were grounded."

"I was…. But I didn't deserve it!"

"That gives you the right not to tell anybody where you're going? I was so worried that you might have disappeared again like you did before…"

"What are you talking about mom?" Alexis tried to summon the events of her childhood but only had vague memories of the events that occurred.

"Nevermind." she answered quickly. "Just please don't do this to me again. Now grab your stuff. We're leaving"

Turning before she left, Alexis glanced at Emily.

"Sorry, Em. We'll make new plans."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later."

"Alexis isn't going to be able to come over for awhile." Lisa stood at the door waiting for her daughter to follow her out to the car.

"Great…" Alexis mumbled under her breath at her mother's statement.


	8. We tried so hard to understand

A/N: Thanks to emptyvoices for her help with editing this chapter. And thanks to the people who read or reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

Upon leaving Emily's, her mother didn't say anything more which surprised her. Usually her mother was furious when she was in trouble. Driving back to their house, Alexis couldn't take the silence anymore.

"I'm sorry." Her tone was meek at the offered apology.

"I know. I just wish you realized how much I worry when nobody knows where you are"

"I know I should have called. I won't do it again."

"Maybe I should have been more open with you. Explain why I worry so much about you" Lisa glanced at her daughter.

"I always thought you were just being a mom." Alexis joked.

"Something happened to you when you were little. I know you don't remember it but…" Lisa's voice had a more serious tone.

"What?" Alexis was curious to hear what else her mother may have hidden from her.

"Maybe we should wait until we're home to have this conversation."

"No, I want to hear this now." Alexis was becoming impatient

"We're almost home. You can wait another five minutes"

Arriving at the house Alexis took a seat on the couch. "Now explain to me what happened."

Lisa paused taking a deep breath. "After your first day of preschool you disappeared with a stranger even after your father and I spent so much time making sure you understood never to approach one."

"What?" She was astounded that an event like that would occur. "Don't you think I would remember something like that? Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, it happened. It's not just me being overprotective. You've just forgotten. I can't say I'm surprised since it was very traumatic for you. I for one wish I could forget sometimes too."

"And I'm just supposed to believe it happened because you say it did."

"You've seen the pictures from when you were younger. The ones where you have a pink cast on your arm. That happened because of him." Lisa replied.

"You told me that happened because I fell off the jungle gym at the playground" Alexis was getting angry uncertain of what to believe anymore.

"We were just trying to protect you."

"Protecting…lying…; whatever you what to call it _mother_ to make yourself feel better. Stop trying to shield me from everything. I'd rather just hear the truth for once."

Alexis left the living room and ran up the stairs to her bedroom and slammed the door shut in fury.

* * *

Not surprised at all by Alexis' reaction, Lisa fought the urge to go after her daughter. She knew that would probably just make things worse. No matter how old Alexis got, Lisa knew she would never stop worrying about her safety.

* * *

Alexis had spent most of the weekend avoiding her parents. Coming downstairs into the kitchen Monday morning Alexis was hoping she could convince her parents to drop her off at school early. After her mother told her the reason she was so protective of her she spent the weekend feeling conflicted. She needed to confide to someone about this. Her parents had lied to her about Landon being her real father until recently. Her mother could very well be making this story up too. But then what about the nightmares she had from time to time. Were they just her imagination?

"I need help with a homework assignment so I need to get to school early."

Setting the newspaper down, Landon stood from up from the table. "I was just getting ready to leave so if you're ready I can drop you off at school"

"Thanks." She grabbed her bag and headed towards the door.

* * *

Hanging her backpack and jacket up in her locker she grabbed the books she needed for the morning and headed to her first period classroom.

Walking in and she sat down at her desk. Mr Carter looked up in surprise.

"Alexis, class doesn't start for another 20 minutes."

"I know. I was just hoping I could talk to you about something. Unless you're busy…" She noticed the piles of homework on his desk he was grading.

"No, this can wait. What's on your mind?"

"My mother explained to me on Friday why she was so controlling."

"Aren't all mother's overprotective?" Jackson asked, offering her a smile.

"Perhaps, but my mother claims I disappeared with a stranger when I was little and I don't know whether I should believe her. I have no memory of it. I mean she lied about who my father was for years while I was growing up. Why should I believe this story is any different?"

"Well, there's always the possibility that she's telling you this in order to keep you on a tight leash."

Of course he knew what Alexis was saying was true but if he could make her doubt her parent's story then his plan would be that much easier to implement and Alexis would be more cooperative.

"You really think she would make up a story like that just to make me compliant? I know I haven't been the best daughter lately but saying that I was kidnapped seems extreme."

"You told me that your mother lied to you about your true father. She doesn't strike me as a very honest person. Who is to say that she's not deceiving you about this?"

Alexis was becoming more confused as she tried to sort through the conflicting information she was receiving. She would have continued the conversation but she hadn't realized how much time had passed and students were starting to flood into the classroom upon the sound of the bell signaling that another day of school had begun.


	9. And no one cares to talk about

A/N: Happy New Year's everybody. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please read and review (they make me happy). Thanks to emptyvoices for her help with editing.

* * *

Alexis' parents could see that things were worsening the more she found out about her past. Lisa decided she had done the right thing by waiting to Alexis until she was older but she was concerned. Alexis pretended to be ill the next day to avoid going to school until her mother forced her out of bed, telling her that she couldn't avoid school forever.

Her mother just didn't understand how hard it was for her just to get through every single day. If she didn't have Emily and her other group of friends, she wouldn't have been able to summon the courage to get on the bus each morning however her mother wasn't about to let her avoid the hazards that awaited her. Despite her fears, the morning went well and she started to think maybe this day would actually turn out well.

And the day would have gone well if it wasn't for the same malicious girls who refused to stop giving her a hard time every time she had the misfortune of running into them.

"Hey Alexis," the lead girl stepped in front of her cutting her off. Alexis attempted to ignore her and tried to move past her but she was immediately blocked. "What don't you want to talk to us?"

"I would but I'm meeting somebody more important." she shot back in an equally sarcastic tone.

"Well that's too bad." Another girl had piped into the conversation

"And why's that?" Alexis was curious. The girl's tone seemed almost contrite.

"We all just wanted to say how sorry we aren't that you don't know who your real father is." The false sympathy was evident in her voice.

"What?" Alexis was trying to remain calm, fighting the urge to run away from the situation.

"We all just think it's sad your father left you and obviously doesn't care about you. If he did, maybe he would have stuck around."

Alexis was trying very hard not to react to show how upset she was but was on the verge of failing miserably. The girls smiled knowingly. Her despair was what they wanted.

"Who told you?"

"So it is true that you have no clue who your real father is. How very sad for you."

"He didn't leave because of me. I'm sure he had a good reason." Alexis said trying to convince the girls and herself at the same time.

"Well of course you want to believe that but if I was your father I would leave to. Who would want a freak like you for a daughter?"

She hadn't wanted to get upset in front of them but she just couldn't take anymore. What if she was the reason her own father left? She needed to get away from everybody before she really got upset and lost control completely. She was supposed to be meeting Emily for lunch but now all she could think about the anger raging to the surface and how Emily was responsible for the new gossip the girls used against her. Finding Emily sitting at their regular table she ran over. Seeing Alexis was visibly upset she asked what was wrong.

"Shouldn't you know?" Alexis folded her arms across her chest.

"Lex, I really don't know what your talking about."

"You told everybody even though you promised not to."

"Told what, I haven't told anybody anything" Emily was getting defensive as she stood up from her seat.

"About my father and how Landon isn't my real dad. You told didn't you?"

"I haven't said anything about that. You know I wouldn't break a promise I made to you."

"Well then how come the rest of the school seems to know?."

"I don't know but I'm not the only person who you told. I can't believe you think I would lie to you." Emily walked off hurt that the person she perceived as her best friend would accuse her of betraying her.

* * *

After the fight she had with Alexis, Emily decided to spend the rest of the lunch period in the library. Something else was definitely bothering Alexis but she just didn't know what. At least now she had time to work on her history assignment due next week. Her teacher wanted them to pick a major event and complete a research project on it. Her instructor preferred something relatively recent although her teacher hadn't specified an exact time period.

Emily personally thought the assignment was a waste of time. Why did she care about past events some of which happened long before she was ever born?

* * *

_Who else would have told if it wasn't Emily?_ Alexis went over the possibilities in her mind but shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of defeat. It didn't really matter because everybody obviously knew or would know soon enough. When they did, she didn't want to be around.

She left the cafeteria and ran to a deserted stairwell so she could be alone in the midst of her misery and collapsed within the hidden confines, tears of despair coming forth. _Maybe they're right_. _Maybe my father left because of me._ With the way she was treating Landon recently, it's a wonder he could put up with her at all. Hearing footsteps approaching, Alexis tensed; worried it was one of the girls from earlier she quickly rubbed her hand over her eyes to hide the fact that she had been upset. Seeing who it was gave her some relief as Mr. Carter wouldn't make fun of her crying over a seemingly stupid situation.

"Alexis, shouldn't you be at the cafeteria by now?" He bent down so he was eye level to her, his blue eyes gazing at her knowingly.

"Yeah." She muttered. She was in for it now, knowing that Mr. Carter could give her a detention for wandering throughout the school without a pass.

"Is there something wrong?" Concern radiated in his voice. She put her head in her hands, her shoulders quivering slightly. "Do you want to talk about it?" He put his hand on her arm in order to help her get to her feet.

"No it's not really that important. I'm over it now." It was a lie but at the moment, she didn't know what to say.

"Well, obviously something upset you. I find it hard to believe you would cry without a reason."

"I wasn't crying." She looked at him squarely, swallowing the lump that had lodged in her throat.

"Alright, fine but there is something that's bothering you isn't there?"

"Maybe. I…" She trailed off.

"Well if you decide you want to talk about it, you know where my classroom is." He turned to leave

"No, wait" she said, stopping him. What was she going to accomplish just sitting here feeling sorry for herself?

He turned back around to see what she had to say. _She really is starting to trust me quite a bit_.

"Why do you think parents leave and never come back?"

"This is about your father isn't it?"

Alexis nodded. "Somehow kids found out about it and they were saying that my father left because of me. That he didn't love me enough to stay." She sounded rather forlorn, looking down at the ground desperately hoping she wouldn't hear him confirm their remarks.

"I'm under the impression that you believed them?" She was silent and he sighed.

"Things like this happen to families but you are not to blame for it. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

"I guess you're right" She didn't sound completely convinced but Alexis seemed a bit happier and he decided he should get back to his classroom. He had a lot he had planned on accomplishing during the lunch period and had only left because he had to run an errand.

* * *


	10. Cause all we know is falling

A/N: only one more week before I have to go back to school. Boo. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks to emptyvoices for her help with editing.

* * *

Scrolling through the old newspapers articles on the computer, Emily was finding the events of the past rather dull. _This is just not worth my time._ She was ready to give up and return to the cafeteria. She knew she had to pick a topic soon if she was going to get this project done on time. Emily forced herself to concentrate long enough to look through a few more of the articles. 

The last article she glanced at caught her attention. On the front page of the old newspaper article was a headline that read Bombing at Lux Atlantic. _That's Lexi's mom's hotel._ She was suddenly curious. According to the information in the article a man named Jackson Rippner forced her to make a phone call to her hotel that would have ended the lives of a prominent family. But she ended up being able to save them, injuring him severely in the process. _I bet he was pissed off with her for that._

If she did this as her assignment she wouldn't have to do any further research if Alexis's mom would be open to an interview. Researching more, she found another article concerning the trial surrounding the incident. Along with the article of the trial were two photographs. One that she recognized as Lisa and a man she presumed to be Jackson Rippner and she felt a strange sense of deja vu. His picture seemed terribly familiar to her. Studying the picture intensely, she realized whom the man strongly resembled.

_It can't be._ Despite the grainy black and white photo, there seemed to be no denying what was clearly evident. Gathering her books together, she knew she had to tell Alexis about what she found just incase her suspicions were correct and they were the same person. If she was right, Alexis could be in danger. Who knew what could have happened to the guy since the last article about Jackson Rippner was dated from before she was even born.

* * *

After her talk with her teacher, Alexis was starting to feel better about what happened earlier. She wished she could become indifferent to the pestering of the girls who enjoyed picking on her. Alexis realized she had been unfair to Emily and knew she should apologize. _I'll find her after school._

* * *

Rushing down the hallway she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. She just knew she needed to find Alexis who was probably still in the cafeteria eating lunch in which all high school students were to be during the break period. She knew to get to the cafeteria that she had to go past 'Mr Carter's' classroom. _Maybe he won't be in his classroom_. But running past, she realized she had no such luck when she heard her name being called out, causing her to stop. "Miss Bennet, you do know that there's no running allowed in the hallway, don't you?"

"Yes." She was nervous pinned under the intensity of his stare.

"And why were we in such a hurry?"

"I'm late to meet somebody." She said quickly, glancing over her shoulder

"I really don't like people lying to me Miss Bennet. I'm excellent at reading people. So what's the real reason for your rush?"

"I have to find somebody." She was purposely vague in hopes he would be satisfied with the ambiguity of her answer.

"That person wouldn't happen to be Alexis now would it?"

"No…"

"Lying again Miss Bennet? What did I just say?"

"Not to do it."

"Along with running in the hallways you're not even supposed to be out here without a pass. So I assume you have one." He extended his hand in ready anticipation of getting her in trouble.

"Well no not exactly. I was in the library and left kind of quickly. I'm just trying to get to the cafeteria. I won't break anymore rules, I swear." All she wanted to do was escape her present predicament.

"Alright, just don't let me catch you doing this again."

"You won't" she headed off, thankful that she managed to elude him and in her rush to get away dropped a copy of the article she had printed of the newspaper clipping.

Mr. Carter bent down to pick it up and was about to take it into his classroom to give to Emily later in class until he saw the contents of the page. _Shit! She knows and she'll ruin everything._

He quickened his pace to catch Emily before she got near the crowded cafeteria. As he drew closer to her he raised his voice just loud enough for her to hear without drawing attention from anyone else. "Miss Bennet,"

_Now what?_ She turned around.

"You seem to be missing something." He extended his hand to hold out the article to her.

"Oh. Thanks." Her heart was beating erratically as she carried on with the pretense that she was unalarmed despite knowing perfectly well what she had dropped.

He seized her arm, pulling her towards him, away from the cafeteria. "Curiosity killed the cat, Miss Bennett."

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone!" She struggled against him only to feel his grip tighten on her arm. The scream which had seemed paralyzed in her throat now struggled to break free. He furiously clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Sure, you weren't." he said sarcastically "Now we're going to leave the school and you're not going to draw any kind of attention to us. Play nice and you and your family may get out of this alive."

Too scared now to form words, she nodded her willingness to comply. His eyes seemed to convey the fact that he wasn't delivering idle threats. She had put herself and her family at risk. More to the point, she had been right all along and Alexis was in danger.

Emily prayed it was almost time for the bell to ring that signaled the change in period and the hallways would be crowded once more allowing her to obtain help. _There has to be someone around._ Prospects seemed bleak as he continued to drag her to the exit of the building, pushing her outside into the frigid air. Everyone had apparently seemed to vanish especially when she needed help the most.

* * *

Emily does have a point later in the story. I think it's the next chapter where Alexis finds out everything. :) 


	11. And now I feel like I don't know you

A/N: So basically my college sucks and I'm tired of school. Maybe I should just transfer to an easier school for teaching where they actually tell you stuff.

This chapter hasn't been edited because well it's been like a month since I've heard from my beta so I'm hoping it's not really bad. So anybody interested in possibly helping me with editing if I don't get a reply back to my last e-mail I sent her, please? (except for bregobeauty cause she's already helping me with ideas and such) I figured it had been long enough to make you guys wait and I would post finally. Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter and please review again. It will make up for all everything that's happening at school right now and cheer me up.

* * *

Glancing at his watch as his pulled Emily along he saw he had about plenty of time to run home and get back to the high school before anyone would be wondering where he had gone. Times like this made him happy that he had bought a house close enough to the school that he could run home if he needed to during the day. Reaching his car he opened the passenger side door and pushed Emily in. Climbing into the driver's side he started the car to head towards his house. He was worried Emily would put up a fuss and attract attention but she seemed too much in shock or to scared to bother. Even if she had been upset or crying it wouldn't have really made a difference to him. He couldn't let her go anyways she knew too much.

Arriving back at his house he quickly parked the car and ran around to the passenger side to retrieve Emily. Grabbing her arm he led her to the front door not loosing his grip at all while he unlocked the front door. After dropping his keys on the table beside his front door he proceeded to pull her along down the hallway. Opening the door to the nearest room he pushed Emily inside while he went to go get some things that he needed. Making sure the door was locked behind him and feeling confident that Emily had understood his warning to not do anything stupid he left her alone. Returning a few minutes later he opened the door to find Emily had huddled herself in the corner with her knees hugged tightly to her chest.

"Come here" he commanded not having a lot of time to waste.

Emily shook her head indicting her refusal to move from the spot.

"I don't have time to be playing these games with you. Now come here, you really don't want to make me angry."

Rising from her spot she slowly moved towards him afraid of what he was planning on doing.

Pulling one of her arms from behind her back she watched as he pulled a syringe filled with something from a bag he had dropped on the floor. Attempting to pull her arm away he got angry and gripped it harder. "Don't make this harder than it has to be"

When he was finally able to insert the needle into her arm she quickly seemed to lose consciousness. He laid her on the floor, her straight black hair hanging limply in her face. Now he wouldn't have to worry about her causing any trouble before he was able to get back home.

* * *

Alexis had been trying to find Emily all day to apologize for how she acted earlier but she didn't seem to be around. She went to Emily's locker at the end of the day thinking she was bound to find her there. But maybe Emily was angrier at her than she thought and was avoiding her. Realizing she had probably taken to long looking for Emily and had probably missed her bus she went to call her mother. Maybe she wouldn't mind coming by and picking me up if she's done working and then I don't have to walk home. Getting a busy signal when she tried calling she sat back on the steps outside deciding that she would wait a couple minutes and then try calling again. If she still didn't get an answer then she would have to walk home. 

Getting up to walk into the school to try calling again she realized somebody was talking to her.

"Waiting for somebody?" Mr. Carter asked as he was leaving the school car keys in hand

"Well I missed the bus so I was hoping my mom would come by and pick me up but I can't seem to reach her."

"I can give you a ride." He offered "If you want that is."

"Alright, thanks if you're sure it's not too much trouble for you." She got up gathering her jacket and backpack and followed him towards his car.

Once they started driving he attempted to start a conversation. "Do you mind if we stop at my house first. I forgot some important papers that I need to drop off at the school later."

She paused thinking of what she should say in response. She did trust him or she wouldn't have gotten in his car so what was one more little stop before her house. "That's fine" Alexis finally replied. She was kind of curious anyhow about what kind of house her teacher lived in.

Parking his car in the driveway he walked to the passenger side opening the door for Alexis. "I'm only going to be a minute but you might be bored just waiting here. You can come in if you want" he had to give her an option or he felt it would seem too suspicious.

Taking her stuff with her she followed him into the house and waited in the living room while he went off to another part of the house. Left alone she started to become bored and wander around. She knew it was wrong to go snooping around his personal items but she couldn't help being curious to find out more about him. Looking through papers on a desk in a nearby room they all made him seem like a normal person. Everybody has bills like these to pay and losing interest in what was on top she opened the top drawer. Inside were a lot of folders labeled with certain keywords to identify each one. Feeling guilty at invading his privacy she was about to shut the drawer but a photograph sticking out of a folder seemed to spark her interest. The background that was visible seemed oddly familiar to her. Tugging at the edge the picture came free from its designated folder. Staring at the photograph in her hand she was trying to find a logical reason for it.

Placing the photo back in the proper folder she went to walk back into the living room to wait for him. When she turned to leave though he was standing by the doorway. She wondered how long he had been standing there to see her going through his belongings.

"Didn't anybody ever teach you that it's not polite to look through people's stuff without their permission"

"umm" Alexis moved back and forth fidgeting with her hands trying to think of what she should say in response. "Why do you have photographs of my mother?" she stammered out suddenly without much thinking

"I knew your mother before you were born. Is it wrong for somebody to have some old pictures?"

"Well no but you've always talked like you didn't know my parents." For the first time in a long while he was actually making her feel nervous. "I think I want you to take me home now." Trying to not act like he was bothering her she headed towards the front door hoping he was following her. The pictures meant nothing she tried to tell herself.

"I don't think that's possible Alexis"

"Well if your not going to take me home I'll figure out how to get home from here by myself." She'd find somewhere to call her parents after she left and have them come get her.

She wasn't going to leave now after everything and he had every intention of stopping that. If he had to deal with Emily anyhow he might as well use her for his benefit "You leave and Emily dies." His serious tone worried Alexis even more.

"What?"

"You heard me. You walk out that door and Emily's pretty little throat's going to get cut"

"I…I-I don't believe you" she managed to get out before running to the door wanting only to get help now and find that Emily was home safe and sound.

"You want more proof then?" and before waiting for Alexis to answer he left the room knowing that she would be too worried about her friend and take his threat seriously to leave now.

* * *

As the sedative he gave her wore off Emily began to slowly wake up. She was feeling disoriented and had trouble remembering what happened at first. Something was stuck in her mouth and when she tried to reach up to remove whatever it was she found she was unable too. Glancing around the room she was remembering the prior events. Emily was becoming more frightened at what he was planning on doing with her but her parents would have to start wondering where she was eventually. Struggling to push herself in a sitting position she waited for him to come back.

* * *

Alexis debated whether it was worth running while he was out of the room. But then she stopped herself feeling guilty if he was telling the truth. She couldn't feel responsible for causing somebody's death especially her best friend's.

* * *

Emily heard a key turning in the lock outside and unconsciously stiffened at the sound. 

"Look who's awake" walking over to her Emily found herself inching away from him. Whatever she was trying to say to him he couldn't understand and he didn't really care at the moment. Pulling Emily up to her feet he dragged her with him back to the living room where Alexis was waiting for him.

* * *

_**So Alexis' feelings are going to be changing quite drastically soon once she finds out who Jackson really is to her. **_


	12. Betrayal

A/N: Anybody else not care at all about the super bowl today? Thanks to Royalty09 for her suggestions and editing help on this chapter.

Lisa arrived home from work later than usual thanks to a meeting running long and was surprised that Alexis wasn't home wasn't home either; perhaps she could have gone somewhere with him?Though he was always telling her not to be concerned, she would always start to worry if he came home without her.

She had just finished setting the table when Landon walked in the front door. When he entered the dining room she could see he was alone.

Remaining calm so Landon wouldn't tell her to stop freaking out like he normally did, she asked if he had any idea where Alexis might be.

"She's not in her room?"

"No, I was hoping she was with you."

"She was at Emily's the last time this happened, maybe you should check there?"

Lisa grabbed the phone off the counter at her husband's suggestion and walked into the living room to make the call. She had talked to Emily's mother on numerous occasions but this time she found herself becoming very nervous. Part of her wanted to hang up and just keep believing that Alexis was over there than to find out for sure she was missing.

"Hello" the familiar voice greeted.

"Hi, it's Lisa. I was wondering, well more like hoping, that my daughter was over there with Emily."

"No, neither of the girls are here. I was thinking Emily had gone home with Alexis after school." She sounded much calmer compared to Lisa. Then again she had no knowledge of Jackson or the grudge he was still carrying against Lisa.

"Thanks" Lisa replied sounding very disappointed that she hadn't heard the answer she wanted.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they just had a school event or something."

"Yeah, maybe" but Lisa knew better than to think it was that easy. She didn't want to say anything to alarm Emily's mother yet since Alexis may be the only one actually missing. No need to start telling her that I think your daughter's also been kidnapped by a psychopath until she found out more information.

Ending the phone call she walked back to the kitchen and set the phone back in its place on the counter. Her expression told him that she hadn't gotten the answer she had been wanting. Landon was sitting at the table waiting for Lisa to come back to eat when she came back from making her phone call. "So…"

"Emily hasn't made it home yet either. Landon, I'm getting worried that something really has happened to her."

"Maybe they went off somewhere together?" he suggested, trying to be reassuring to his wife, but also starting to worry a bit.

"But she promised she would call from now on."

Entering the living room, he pushed Emily in front of him and she fell to the floor hard, unable to use her arms to stop herself.

Alexis ran forward to help her friend even though she was told not to and that she would be fine. She had heard him but she couldn't just stand there while her friend needed her looking so helpless. She bent down to remove the gag in her mouth and untied her hands

Jackson watched with his arms folded across his chest. "You listen about as well as your mother does" He allowed her to finish what she was doing and then yanked on her arm to bring her closer to him.

"Let go of me" she was struggling to get free of his grip so she could get back to Emily. Who seemed so scared at the moment. She had her head down avoiding him with her arms hugging her knees to her chest.

"Calm down Alexis." tightening his grip around her arm "She's fine, aren't you Emily?" his tone mocking Alexis' concern. "Answer me Emily" he insisted getting annoyed

She looked up and shook her head not daring to give him to give the opposite answer of what she was sure he had wanted. "I want to go home; please you don't have to be doing this"

"Well too bad" Jackson answered sounding indifferent to Emily's distraught "You're pretty much stuck with me until I say otherwise."

"My parents are going to realize I'm missing" Emily's struggled to get out between sobs. "They'll come looking for me."

"Probably, but that doesn't mean they'll find you" Jackson knew he shouldn't be acting so smug when he was trying to convince Alexis he really wasn't that bad of a guy. He couldn't help feeling cocky though. He was the best in the business and never got caught.

"Why are you doing this?" Alexis managed to ask him quietly. _Why was any of this stuff happening to her or Emily?_ "I thought you were my friend. I trusted you!" Getting upset that she had let him know everything and he obviously wasn't the person she had thought.

"Well Emily was never part of my original plan but she happened to find out who I really was. She was going to tell you, but unfortunately she ran into me first."

Alexis felt guilt over having treated Emily so poorly and getting her caught up in this situation.

"I'm sorry," Alexis mouthed to Emily who was now choosing to remain silent having given up any hope of going home. Making him angry wouldn't help either of their situations. "You can have me. You don't need her. Please just let her go at least," Alexis said, pleading to the man she had thought just recently was her friend.

He was unmoving and Alexis realized neither she, nor Emily, were going to make him change his mind.

"The least you can do is answer my questions then. Who are you really? Has everything been a lie just to get me to trust you?"

"You can ask all the questions you want later, but now we're going to take a little trip before people start looking around."

"I'm not going anywhere with you and neither is Emily," Alexis replied, speaking for both of them since her friend seem too scared to say anything more.

"You really don't have a choice in the matter." Grabbing hold of Alexis' arm he made sure she followed him to the front door. "Why would you want to go home to parents you seem to fight with all the time anyway?"

"The school's going to realize you're gone," Alexis said in a last attempt to get him to stop what he was doing. "Don't you think it will seem a little suspicious?"

"It might if I hadn't already notified the school of my absence. I told them I had a family emergency that I had to take care of. They won't think anything of my absence."

When Jackson was sure Alexis couldn't possibly come up with any more questions he crouched down next to Emily pulling the knife he kept close by off his belt. Emily automatically stiffened up with Jackson holding a knife next to her.

"Relax." Jackson knew he really couldn't have Emily go outside in broad daylight with her hands bound. "I'm not going to hurt you if you listen. I just want to cut the tape off your hands."

As soon as he was finished he put away his knife while making sure both girls knew how easily he could get it back out. With the knife safely put away he gently grabbed ahold of Emily's arm and made sure Alexis followed him out to the car.

He was sure he didn't need to remind the girls what would happen if they caused any problems.

Once to the car he opened the front door for Alexis, motioning for her to get in. Alexis hesitated for a minute trying to stall leaving. "Since you've already said we don't have a choice whether to go with you or not I'd like to sit with Emily." Emily might be too scared of him to speak up but Alexis certainly wasn't.

"I can't allow that" Jackson snapped quickly. "Now get in the car Alexis" The last thing he needed was for the two girls to start planning secretly while he was driving. He needed time with Alexis alone to explain everything. He then opened the back door and made sure that Emily got in as well before going around to the driver's side.

From the driver's seat Jackson reached across Alexis to retrieve a pair of handcuffs that he kept in the glove box. Turning around he motioned for Emily to turn around with her hands behind her back. "Can't have you trying to jump out of the car while I'm driving" Emily looked to Alexis for what she should do.

"It's okay Emily." Alexis knew she was going to have to be the strong, supportive one in this situation. "Just do what he says and we'll be alright"

"Good girl" Jackson said cheerfully "Now lay down" He didn't know if anyone had noticed that either of the girls was missing yet. It would be a lot harder to get anywhere if it was obvious that he had two young girls with him that matched any descriptions.

Alexis still would have preferred the back seat but at least she could still keep checking on her from her seat up front.

After driving in silence for what seemed like ages, Alexis finally spoke up. "You said I could ask questions later."

She glanced over at him, looking for any kind of response, but he seemed to be focused on the road ahead. She decided to continue anyhow. "Who are you really? Why are you doing this? I think we deserve to know."

"To start with, my name's Jackson, so you can stop referring to me as Mr. Carter. And why I'm doing this is mostly because of your mother." Jackson momentarily took his eyes off the road and glanced over at Alexis. "You look just like her you know?"

Jackson tried to gage what she was thinking based on her reaction. "Your mother has been messing up my career and my life from the first day we met. She doesn't seem to worry about what happens to her, as long the people she cares about are safe, and that's where you come in. Since I can't seem to get my revenge with her around, what better way than to take away somebody she loves?"

"So let me get this straight. My mom, a girl, beat you at something so now you're traumatizing two teenagers just to get back at her; that's kind of pathetic," she spat at him in anger.

"That and I want what's mine. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"What's yours? Now I'm some kind of possession for you two to fight over?" Alexis snapped What do you mean by that anyways?"

"I always thought you were smarter than that Alexis," Jackson said. "You wanted so badly to meet your real father and when you finally do, _this_ is the kind of reaction I get."

"No...no...no," Alexis found herself repeating. She had all these wonderful thoughts about who her real father was, and now she was finding out they were all wrong. "My mother would have never loved you."

"Are you sure about that? We did have a child together obviously, or you wouldn't be here."

"Yeah and Emily and I wouldn't be in this situation right now," she mumbled to herself.

"You'll see eventually that I'm the better parent. I didn't want to have to do it this way. I just wanted to see you. You said yourself that you wanted a relationship with your father but she wouldn't even give you my name. See your mother never cared about what you wanted."

"No, she does care about me and she loves me. Which is more than I can say about you," Alexis fired back. Not bothering to see his reaction, she turned to look out the window, determined to figure out a way for her and Emily to get out of their present situation.

Jackson knew given time he could get Alexis to come around and see his side of things.


	13. Cause theres no hope for today

_Maybe if my heart stops beating_

_It wont hurt this much_

_And never will I have to_

_Answer again to anyone_

_Please don't get me wrong_

_Because I'll never let this go_

_But I can't find the words to tell you_

_I don't want to be alone_

_But now I feel like I don't know you oh_

_One day you'll get sick of_

_Saying that everything's alright_

_And by then I'm sure ill be_

_Pretending just like I am tonight_

x Never Let This Go x

Paramore

The rest of the drive was made in silence with Alexis occasionally glancing back at her friend. It wasn't until Jackson announced "We're here," that Alexis realized they had stopped. At some point the sky had darkened and turned to night, so she realized they must have driven at least a couple of hours.

"And where's here?" Alexis asked, moving to open the car door.

"That's information you don't need to know," Jackson said smugly as he exited the car.

Alexis was heading around to help Emily out of the car but Jackson beat her to it. "Why don't you go wait at the front door?" he suggested. "I'll get Emily."

She begrudgingly agreed after she realized it was more of an order than a suggestion. While Alexis walked towards the door, Emily scooted across the seat in an effort to put distance between them. Jackson reached for her arm and shot her a cold look when she regarded him warily.

"If you don't give me a reason to, for instance telling Alexis what you know, I'm not going to hurt you. So if you don't piss me off, you and the rest of your family will be fine," Jackson threatened, getting slightly annoyed that it was taking so long to get inside.

Jackson's words obviously didn't have much impact on Emily. She was still focused on keeping distance between her and her kidnapper.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." Jackson grabbed her arms and pulled her from the car before dragging her to the front door.

Jackson held onto Emily as he fumbled with the keys and attempted to open the door with his free hand. Locking the door behind them, he pocketed the keys and walked off into the nearby kitchen. Alexis glanced to the door and realized he would be able to see anything they did from his current position in the kitchen.

"Come on," Alexis nudged Emily. Her friend slowly followed her lead.

"Either of you hungry?" Jackson asked as he opened the cabinet doors in hopes of finding something to serve for dinner. "We seemed to have missed dinner while we were driving."

"No," Alexis answered for the both of them. _How could you expect us to eat at a time like this?_

"No, you're not hungry; or no, you're just being stubborn and refusing to eat anything from me?"

"I think I'd rather starve to death than depend on you for anything."

"Well that's not going to happen. Both of you are going to eat eventually whether you want to or not."

"Fuck you!" Alexis spat at him angrily. She was frustrated with the whole situation in general.

"Now is that any way to talk to you father?" Jackson asked with a smirk as he turned around to face her.

"You're critiquing my language when you're the one that just kidnapped two young girls?" Alexis shot back at him.

Jackson had paused in the kitchen momentarily, the cabinet he was searching through he had left open. When he turned back to face Alexis he could see the anger and resentment towards him. It was painfully evident from her face and how she was looking at him. He took a deep breath before walking off to the small living room near the kitchen. Emily instinctively backed away from Jackson as soon as he got near her. She refused to let Jackson close enough to her to be able to touch her.

"Emily stop playing games." Jackson found he barely had to raise his voice to get Emily to obey him. Afraid of making him more angry she inched towards him. "That's a good girl. I just want to show you your room. I already promised you that I wouldn't hurt you if you listened."

_I have to remain calm_, he instructed himself. _Otherwise this is never going to work _

As he gently grabbed Emily's arm he directed her towards the stairs and told Alexis he would be right back.

Alexis sat down on one of the couches while she waited for Jackson. She momentarily thought about trying the door but then what stopped him from hurting Emily in return. Maybe he started off as a bad guy but maybe he was telling the truth. What if this was the only way that he could get to know his daughter. If she left now she probably would never get the chance to learn anything about him. Her mother certainly wasn't going to tell her anything. Did she really want to be the reason her biologically father went to jail? So instead of trying to leave she sat on the couch unsure of what he wanted her to do or even say.

When Jackson came back he took the seat across from her wanting to give her the distance she seemed to want. The position also made it easier to maintain eye contact with Alexis while he was convincing her everything was going to be all right.

"You seem angry Alexis. Why is that?" he asked softly; his voice sounded and calm-even concerned. Everything she thought her father should have been but hadn't really shown since they left Miami.

He was going to convince Alexis that he could be the best father ever. She didn't have to believe it forever and he certainly couldn't keep up the act forever. He just needed Alexis to be convinced long enough for his plan to work and sufficiently hurt Lisa.

"Maybe because I don't want to be here-did you ever think of that? It's not fair. You left _**me**_! You're not allowed to just come back into my life like this. You had sixteen whole years to know me and you didn't care then!" she screamed at him. Her anger at being abandoned by him was clearly evident in her tone and body language. "You decide know is the perfect time to get to know me."

Jackson nodded, almost in understanding. "I'm sorry you feel this way, Alexis. I should have tried to get you back sooner. Maybe things would have been or could've been different. I'm sorry I wasn't there before but I want to try to make it up to you know."

"If you really missed me and really are as sorry as you say why did it take you so long to find me?" Her voice was desperate to hear that there wasn't anything she could have done differently to change his mind. Even though he seemed like he was trying to be honest with her she was still feeling resentful towards her father for just leaving her.

"It's really very complicated, Alexis," he tried to explain placing his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her down. All he was doing was infuriating her more. "No, I get it! You obviously didn't love me enough to stay or even bother trying to contact me!" She snapped at him pulling away from him when he didn't give her the answer she had wanted to hear. She wanted to hear him say that had tried to find her all those years. But he was being just like her mother. Telling her things were complicated. You'll understand when you're older she had been told on numerous occasions. She wanted so badly for somebody to finally treat her like an adult who could handle the truth.

"Your mother wouldn't allow me to see you. That's why I had to do what I did and I'm sorry about Emily. She wasn't supposed to be involved but then she found out and was going to tell on me. Then I would have never got a chance to know you." Jackson was trying his hardest to seem sympathetic and understanding. He hoped it was working. "I'll explain everything eventually. Right now, I just need you to trust me."

_I need you to trust me and __**want**__ to stay. If you don't, then this plan is screwed all around. The only way to really hurt Lisa is if she knows that you want to be with me instead of her…_ Jackson thought.

"I trusted you once already. Why should I believe anything you say anymore?"

"Because I'm here for you now."

"And you won't leave me again?" Alexis was trying to sort out her feelings and she didn't want to risk being hurt by him again. She was abandoned by him once already. She wasn't sure how she would deal with being hurt again.

"Promise." _Whether you like it or not…you're stuck with me __**forever**__._


	14. Broken promises for broken hearts

Alexis finally agreed to eat something with the promise that Jackson would explain himself in more detail. When she was finished he told Alexis he had something to show her. He led her down the main hallway to a door that was slightly open. He had spent a lot of time preparing the room for her so he hoped she liked it.

When Alexis entered the room Jackson was casually leaning against the doorway watching her reaction.

"So what do you think?" Jackson was genuinely curious. He had never bought or designed anything for a teen girl before and he really hoped she liked it.

"It's fine" Alexis didn't want to seem to unappreciative towards his efforts but she was still getting used to all of this new information and the new situation she was in. Alexis had been away from Emily for a while and she wanted to make sure she was okay. "Where is Emily going to sleep?"

Just like her mother to care more about other people than herself. "Emily's totally fine. She's in a room down the hall so we could talk."

"I want to see her" Jackson weighed the consequences of allowing this. If he said no he appeared to be the bad guy and if he said yes he risked Emily saying something she shouldn't. Judging by her behavior around him so far though he decided she was too scared to do or say anything stupid.

"Sure" Jackson said with a smile and lead Alexis up the stairs to the bedroom he had put Emily in earlier

He had thought that about allowing the two of them to stay together but decided it could be harmful to his plan. Emily seemed too scared of him and what he might do to her to say anything she shouldn't but he couldn't risk it. He couldn't exactly get rid of her now without Alexis noticing either. Besides, he thought it would be easier to get on Alexis's good side if he allowed her best friend to stay here with her.

Upon entering the less decorated bedroom that Emily was staying in Alexis ran over to Emily and whispered something he was unable to hear. Jackson decided it was most likely nothing. She had been worried about Emily the whole trip so she was probably just asking if she was okay or maybe reassuring Emily that things would be alright.

When Alexis was finished Jackson then removed the handcuffs encircling Emily's wrist upon Alexis' request.

"Lex," he chimed in, using the shortened version of her name in an effort to make things feel normal between the two of them.

Alexis turned back towards him since she had been staring at the room. "Only my parents and my friends are allowed to call me that," she replied coldly, still feeling angry towards him. He was out of her life for 16 years and all of sudden he wanted to act like he was close to her. One conversation doesn't make them best friends.

"Alright, Alexis," he responded, emphasizing her first name, "I know you're probably still mad at me, but I had to do it."

"Gee, you think?" Alexis asked sarcastically, unsure of how kidnapping could ever have a good reason, "So what is your reason behind all of this? You said my mother wouldn't let you near me but surely there had to be another way. I doubt stealing me and my best friend was your only option"

"I told you already. It was the only way I could get close to you," he said, playing the part of the distraught father.

"Then why does Emily have to be here?" she asked him curiously, still unsure of why her best friend had to be involved in this terrible situation.

"We already went over this." Jackson slowed his speech feeling himself becoming annoyed that he was having to repeat himself. "She would have run home and told your mother what she found out and who you were with. Then I would be arrested and you'll never get a chance to know me. Is that what you really want Alexis… after all these years?"

"Well…," she began, but halted, fully aware that what he was doing was technically wrong, but that didn't change the fact that he was her father and she did want to know more about him. "No, I guess not."

"Your mother kept you away from me since you were born. I wanted to be there for you while you were growing up, but she ruined all that."

"You promise you wanted to be there?" She was unsure whether she should believe anything he was telling her. Though she was eager to accept whatever he said because part of her felt better then. It meant he didn't leave because of her, or that he left because he didn't love her. It meant that he didn't abandon her like she grew up thinking. Apparently, it was all her mother's fault that she grew up not knowing him.

"It was your mother that married right after you were born and then led you to believe he was your biological father for all those years."

He knew from his talks with Alexis that Lisa had told her very little about things that had happened in her past.

Maybe she should have, because now he was going to use it to his advantage. She would never find out about any of the terrible things he had done in the past. She was still under the impression that her mother was even lying about the incident that took place when she was three. Her not knowing anything about the past would make it easier for her to believe everything he said. Eventually he'd prove to Alexis that he was the better parent and Lisa had done nothing but lie to her the whole time she was growing up.

Once he had Alexis convinced and he was sure she had no urge to return back home, he'd make sure Lisa knew it. Then he could finally feel like he had succeeded in what he had always wanted to do since the flight. Her own daughter would slowly start to resent her and that would tear Lisa up inside, which is exactly what he wanted

He told Lisa this wasn't over. She'd be sorry that she ever dared to mess up everything in his life.

Jackson commented that it was getting late and everyone should get ready for bed. Alexis had stated that she wished for Emily to stay with her for the night and he agreed knowing that telling her no could have a bad effect on the relationship he was trying to develop with her. He left the door unlocked though so Alexis wouldn't find it weird. She'd have to walk by his bedroom or his study to get to the front door anyways.

He had work he needed to accomplish without having to worry about what they were doing.

Alexis and Emily were about the same size and had shared clothes before, so Alexis dragged Emily down the hallway to the room designed specifically for her and opened the one drawer, searching for pajamas for the two of them.

Emily had quietly thought to herself about trying to leave during the night, but was scared of the consequences if he should be up and catch her. Alexis would figure out a way to get her out like she said. He was bound to do something careless eventually.


	15. And all I have is the memory of what was

Lisa was pacing in the kitchen wondering what she should do. "Landon it's getting dark outside."

Alexis still hadn't returned home and Lisa was really starting to freak out. He was sure she was going to start having a panic attack if she didn't calm herself down soon.

"It's going to be okay. We'll call the police and they'll find her," he said.

"You mean like they did last time?" She asked angrily, remembering the last incident and how much help the police department _hadn't_ been. "It's him, I know it is."

_She had gone by the school after Alexis hadn't made it home for dinner. Lisa caught one of the school secretaries as she was about to leave for the end of the day. The secretary could sense Lisa's anxiety and offered to stick around for a couple more minutes. Lisa explained that her daughter hadn't seemed to make it home from school yet and she thought maybe the school would be able to help. She didn't know much about Alexis' school life being the workaholic she was and regretted it now. The only helpful information she knew was that Alexis seemed to mention a particular teacher from time to time. The secretary described him as a nice, charming young man with the most beautiful blue eyes. Lisa almost collapsed from the idea of Jackson having been so close to her daughter this whole time without her knowledge. She also found out from the secretary that he hadn't been working there very long and had just recently filed for a temporary leave of absence. _

"It was just a suggestion," Landon said, taken aback by his wife's angry tone.

"I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help." She allowed her husband to hold her while he attempted to comfort her.

"One thing's for sure, you aren't going anywhere with him this time."

Lisa lifted her head up off his shoulder, "I'm not sure it's about me this time, at least not directly."

"Why do you say that?"

"He could have gotten me if he wanted me. It's her teacher…Mr. Carter. I was trying to make an appointment with him and he refused."

* * *

Even though the police hadn't been much help last time she had convinced herself that it was better than just waiting around for something to happen. 

Walking in she was unsure of who she should go talk to and talked to the first person she ran into who was sitting at a desk.

"Hi, I need to report my daughter missing. She never came home after school today."

"And how old is your daughter?"

"16" she replied back quickly

"Miss have you and your daughter been having any problems at home?" the officer asked obviously trying to gage the seriousness of the situation

"Well we've been fighting more recently but that's a normal teenage thing"

"Considering your daughter's age in these situations it's more likely that's she's gone off with friends and will came back home on her own when she's ready" attempting to rationalize with the anxious mother standing in front of him

"No, you don't understand she's been abducted by her father"

"Do you have any proof of that?"

"Well, no but you have to believe me. You have to go find her." Lisa pleaded with him

"I know you feel like your case is the most important one out there. But we have much younger missing children that we know for a fact are in danger."

Lisa felt dissapointed by what the officer was telling her but made sure to give as detailed of a description as she could just in case somebody actually did something with it.

* * *

Ariving home she told Landon what she had been told by the police and he could tell she was very upset by it. 

In an attempt to comfort her he pulled her close to him. "We're going to find her and she's going to be okay," he said and began stroking her hair in an effort to relax her. He knew she was trying to hide the fact that she wanted to cry by burying her head in his shoulder, but he could feel the dampness from her tears on his shirt.

"How are we supposed to find her when we don't even know where the hell she is? It's been hours Landon; they could be headed anywhere by now."

"She's a smart girl, Lisa. She'll figure out a way to get help or tell us where she is."

He gently held her face in his hands as he wiped the stray tears from her eyes.

_If Jackson hasn't already convinced her to hate me by then, _Lisa thought sadlyShe should have been more truthful with her about the past, but regret over what she had or hadn't done wasn't going to bring her daughter back.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to Royalty09 for her help editing this chapter and her suggestions. And thanks to everybody else who either read or reviewed the last chapter. 

Disclaimer: Chapter title belongs to Hawthorne Heights. Chapter title in 16 also belongs to Hawthorne Heights


	16. I need you now and I can't stand this

In the morning Jackson woke up still feeling tired but he had accomplished a lot of work the night before. Walking over to Alexis' bedroom he knocked on the door not wanting to walk in on anything. Alexis sat up in bed having still been asleep but woken up by the rapping on the door. Emily woke up also as Alexis shifted in the big bed.

"Come in." Alexis responded sleepily to the knocking

"So did I do a good job? Do you like it?" he asked getting Alexis' attention since she was still half asleep and inattentive. "I wasn't exactly sure what teenage girls liked but I wanted you to be comfortable."

"No, you did a good job," Alexis said smiling. "I like it."

"Good."

After Jackson came in and woke Alexis up he left so they could both get ready. The rest of the day she found to be pretty boring for her. She had spent a good portion of the day just watching television or reading by herself. It had become pretty boring actually but it was worth the tradeoff. Jackson almost always seemed nearby though doing something probably work related.

Emily spent almost her whole day upstairs by herself. Alexis had trouble getting her to do anything that involved leaving her room. Her father seemed to prefer it this way because then he didn't have to deal with any as he called them problems. Alexis felt horrible that Emily had adapted to only talking when she was talked to and only did something if she was told to. She couldn't risk her only chance with her father though. She would find a way to help her escape and make it up to her.

If she was going to stay with her father she was thinking she should probably bring up the issue of school soon. She was sure she probably had missed quite a lot already. And she really couldn't just sit all around all day like this forever. She had been back in her bedroom later trying to talk to Emily when Jackson showed up in the doorway.

"I was umm wondering if you would you maybe like to go out to dinner with me tonight," he sounded unsure of how to talk to his daughter still. The way he asked made Alexis think of the young boys at her school who seemed to always be trying to ask out a girl that they had a crush on for a while.

Alexis first thought was that she would love to go out with her father and get to know him more. She had sixteen years of time together to make up for with him. But she couldn't stop thinking that this wasn't the normal reaction. He had technically abducted her and her friend. She should be more worried about getting her and her friend help but she wasn't. She had no desire at this point to try escape from him and run back home to her family in Miami. Of course part of her missed her parents but the other part that wanted her father's attention overshadowed that.

"I would like that." It would give her a chance to talk to him more and build a normal father/daughter relationship in her opinion. She would be able to finally get to know her father better. Was she being a little selfish towards Emily and her parents, maybe? But she felt entitled to have this time with him after all these years apart.

"Go wait for me out in the living room then." Alexis glanced to Emily and back to him, unsure. "Don't worry I just want to talk to Emily before we leave."

After Alexis had left the room he led Emily to the room next door and shut the door behind him. This room was much smaller than the previous bedroom and wasn't decorated at all. A bed in the corner and a nightstand was the extent of the furniture in the room. Emily tensed at being back in a confined space with him alone. She had realized quickly that he wouldn't touch her or do anything with Alexis present. But the fact that he had sent Alexis away worried her.

"Are you going to behave while I'm gone?"

"Yes," Emily answered quietly nodding her head.

"Too bad I don't believe you," he said laughing advancing towards her.

"Stay away from me," she warned; suddenly becoming assertive towards him.

"Calm down, Emily." His calm and even tone seemed to be mocking her distress. "All I want is your hands."

"No!" she said backing up holding them behind her back.

Ignoring her wishes he reached out and grabbed a hold of her right wrist.

"Let go of me!" she yelled trying to pull her arm away from him. "Let go of me or I'll scream! Let's see you explain that away to Alexis. You may have her fooled but I think that would make her starting wondering a little bit."

"You scream and I won't hesitate to kill somebody you love."

"You wouldn't," Emily said beginning to cry.

"Don't think for one second that you are still alive for any other reason than Alexis. So since I can't kill you without her noticing I'll have to settle for somebody else."

"She's going to hate you eventually anyhow."

"Maybe," Jackson said; shrugging his shoulders as he tried to grab her other wrist. "But by then it won't really matter. Now are you going to cooperate with me or do I need to call my friend in Miami?"

"No," she said quickly extending her other arm. "Just don't hurt my family."

Grasping her other hand he twisted them behind her back actually trying to be gentle since she had decided to cooperate with him.

"Good girl." Jackson said with a smirk. He was apparently pleased with himself while he quickly worked at tying her hands together. Then he instructed her to sit down on the bed so he could do the same to her ankles. "Don't you even think about kicking me," he warned. He wasn't about going to underestimate her ability to possibly get out of a locked room while he was gone. It would be a lot harder without the use of her hands. Also the ever present threat of her family being harmed would keep her in line.

Jackson left the room locking the door and leaving behind a very distraught Emily. She had realized there was nothing she could do without getting her or her family hurt. Alexis was getting herself into way more than she realized and there was nothing she could do to stop it on her own.

Entering the living room he found Alexis patiently waiting on the couch. "Ready?" Alexis jumped up at the sound of his voice and spun around.

"Yeah. Where's Emily?" She felt bad enough about her having to be involved but she felt even worse if she would leave without her.

"She's not feeling well." Having a teenage girl with them that refused to make eye contact or talk would be a little suspicious. He couldn't afford any unwanted attention.

"Maybe I should go check on her before we leave."

"No," Jackson said forcefully; grabbing onto Alexis' shoulders and halting her movement.

Alexis found her father's sudden anger at something so small odd. But she brushed it off as him being anxious to get to going. Even then she decided she'd feel better if she talked to her first.

"Em, you okay?" she yelled as her father tried to guide her to the front door as she pulled against him making it back to the bedroom to check on Emily. She was a little surprised to find the door handle to be locked. When she asked about it he explained it was just for safety precautions because he couldn't risk losing Alexis just to take her out to dinner otherwise. "Jackson said you weren't feeling good."

No, she wasn't okay but she already knew that telling Alexis that would just anger Jackson and very well make him go through with his threat. "I just have a headache." She replied back. Her voice was slightly muffled sounding cause of the door between them but she hoped it sounded at least fairly normal which was difficult considering how upset she had recently become. If Alexis realized something was wrong Emily felt that she wouldn't be the only one in danger.

"Do you need-" Alexis tried to ask before getting interrupted.

"Come on Alexis I have reservations we're going to miss if we don't get going. She's fine and we're only going to be gone a few hours"

"Feel better Emily. We'll be back soon" Alexis said feeling slightly disappointed that she had to leave her friend all alone.

Throughout their dinner Alexis did a lot of the talking. She told her father all about the events he had missed while she was growing up that fathers generally go to. Jackson listened to her talk to him about school events, dance recitals, soccer games, her first boyfriends, and dances. In turn Alexis asked questions that she wanted to know about to learn more about her long lost father.


	17. And I've been waiting for so long

**A/N: I'm kinda nervous to be posting this chapter. But I tried changing this chapter because of feedback I recieved on the last chapter. I hope it turned out all right. So please remember to review and let me know what you thought. :) And thanks to everybody you reviewed the last chapter. Royalty09 for her help with editing. **

Disclaimer: Chapter title belongs to Hawthorne Heights

* * *

Jackson had been leaving his door open so it would be possible to hear anything that may happen at night. In the morning he was awoken by a noise in the room near his bedroom. He glanced over at the clock on his nightstand table before getting up; the timepiece confirmed he hadn't gotten much sleep. Having stayed up late working on an upcoming assignment after his dinner with Alexis, he didn't really feel like getting up, but he knew he needed to at least check on the noise. He couldn't afford to let anything ruin his plans. 

Jackson had been pleased that at least Emily had been smart the night before and hadn't tried to do anything while he was gone. He allowed her to go back to Alexis's bedroom with the idea that she wasn't going to say anything about his actions towards her. As far as Alexis knew, he was treating Emily just fine.

Finding the noise was caused by Alexis and Emily having just woken up and searching for food in the kitchen, he immediately wondered if they were up to something.

"What are you doing in here all by yourself?" His voice had taken on a harsher tone than he had hoped for.

Emily looked to Alexis for an answer, "We…we were hungry and you weren't awake yet." She had become nervous at his sudden accusatory remark, "Is that a problem?"

"No, it's not a problem. I was just surprised to see you were awake already, that's all," Jackson said in an attempt to cover up his previous remark and switch back into his fatherly act.

"Did you think about what we discussed night?" He was eager to find what she would think after she had time to process it more.

"Well it's not like he doesn't care about me and he seems to really love my mom."

Defending Landon, she was coming up with reasons why it might have been okay for him and her mother to lie to her.

"Then what would have been the harm in telling you when you were younger?" Slightly cocking his head to the side, Jackson seemed to be wondering what she would say to that. He did have a point after all.

"Well…umm I don't know," she said quietly, feeling bad again about her parents.

"It wouldn't have changed anything, would it, Alexis? Wouldn't you have still loved him as your father? She lied to you because it's what she does. And she's been doing it your whole life."

_All she did was lie to me on the flight. She really should stop trying to play the hero. _

Before Alexis was able to come up with an explanation or answer for the last question, Jackson's cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller id, he walked a couple feet away so they wouldn't pick up on his conversation. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

* * *

Alexis finished eating and went back to her bedroom to get changed out of her pajamas. Once finished, she looked over at Emily who had followed her back but hadn't really moved since then and looked like she was ready to cry any second. She realized she had been ignoring her best friend the whole time she had been talking to Jackson. 

"You okay?" she asked, sounding concerned about her friend's well being. She motioned for Emily to join her at the bed and after a moment's hesitation, she did.

"I guess," Emily said quietly, shrugging her shoulders as she took a seat next to Alexis.

Emily had so much more she had wanted to tell her; that Jackson wasn't the good guy he was pretending to be. _Why couldn't Alexis see that her mother she'd known for 16 years was a much better person than him?_ He was quite charming and charismatic towards Alexis though, so it was not wonder she believed all the lies that slipped out of his mouth.

"It's going to be okay."

"Lex, I'm scared," she admitted and found herself starting to cry. She tried to stop quickly, not wanting her friend to see her tears. But mostly she was worried he would come back any minute now and see how upset she'd become. She realized he probably already picked up she was scared of him, but she wasn't going to let any further weakness show if she could control it.

Holding onto to Emily's shoulders so she could make sure she had her full attention, Alexis said, "Don't worry, Em, I'm not going to let you get hurt." Reassuring her friend, she lowered her voice to more of a whisper, "I'm going to figure out a way to get you out of this."

_She doesn't deserve to be here, to be away from her family. This is about me and I can't let Emily stay and suffer... _

"What about you? Aren't you going to come with me when the time comes?"

_Surely she wasn't thinking of wanting to stay with this psycho... Father or not, he is the ultimate creep,_ Emily thought.

"After sixteen years, I finally have a chance to know my real father. What if he's right? If I leave with you, then I may never get to see him again. How could I live with that?"

Emily looked around the room quickly, worried that Jackson could return from his phone call at any minute. But she had wanted to tell Alexis the truth and she couldn't wait any longer, especially since this was the first time Jackson hadn't been nearby watching them. If she told her fast enough maybe Jackson wouldn't find out and she wouldn't have to worry about the consequences of her actions.

"What if I told you that your dad is paid to kill people for a living? Would you still want to stay here and live with him?" she whispered, attempting to keep her voice as low as possible.

"What!" Alexis asked shocked. "Why would you say something terrible like that?"

"Because it's true; you've already seen he's capable of kidnapping. That's how he met your mother. She was supposed to help him kill some guy."

"Emily, this is my father we're talking about. You don't need to be making up stories to convince me I should be trying to leave him. I'll get you home regardless of whether I leave with you or not."

Emily always had a habit of making up stories while they were at school and seeing if she could get Alexis to believe them. It wouldn't be the first time she said something that wasn't true.

Emily checked again before continuing her pleas. She had realized that she might not be able to convince Alexis, who was quick to believe that her new dad could do no wrong, but she still had to try.

"But I'm not making anything up. It's how he met your mother. It's all true and it's dangerous for you to stay with him."

_He can't keep up the good daddy act forever. He's bound to get angry at her for something. Alexis is in danger and she isn't even aware of it. I have to make sure she gets help too… _

"Which is why I'm not leaving you alone with him," Emily said, trying to sound firm in her statement even though she really didn't believe what she was saying. She wanted to leave so badly and she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to convince Alexis of what she was saying before it was too late.

"Emily, don't be stupid. You're scared and your parents are probably very worried. I wouldn't expect you to understand though. You've known your father since you were born. I haven't, and now I finally have that chance," Alexis stated, pleading with Emily to understand her situation.

_But Landon loves you—doesn't that matter more than whether or not you share DNA with him? Why does it seem like you've change so much since he started talking to you? You're normally so level-headed…_

"And what about your parents?" Emily questioned. "It's okay for your parents to worry but not mine?"

"Well, no, but when you get back home you can just let my parents know that I'm okay."

_**If** I get back home…no,_ she admonished herself_,…**when** I get back home I will tell Alexis' parents more than that_. She would make sure they knew everything.

* * *

"Rippner," he said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was indeed alone. He didn't want Alexis to hear something that would change her mind about him; at least not this early into his plan. 

_She'll find out eventually, but by then, it'll be too late…_

"I was calling to let you know the girl's parents have started looking for her," said his associate over the phone.

"Well, we're here now," Jackson said vaguely, just in case Alexis was listening, "so I'm sure they won't find us."

"Another girl from the same school went missing this afternoon. Did you have anything to do with that?"

"Unfortunately."

_If only she hadn't gotten in my way—then I'd have Alexis' full attention by now and she'd believe everything I said._

"I thought the plan was to kidnap just one girl?"

"I know what the plan was," Jackson hissed into the phone as he clenched his fists in an attempt to control his anger. He couldn't be seen yelling into the phone. "It's just a minor setback. I'll make sure it's taken care of somehow."

Even _he_ wasn't sure what he meant by that. He hadn't originally planned on killing her or he would have done it to start with.

_Well, if she becomes too much of a problem, I'll figure something out…_

"Where is she now?" his associate questioned, knowing Jackson Rippner would be smart enough to have this conversation without her in earshot.

"In her bedroom with the other girl." He was starting to get annoyed with all the questions, but since he needed this guy to call him with updates about what was happening in Miami, he put up with it.

"You think that's wise just to leave them alone like that?" he remarked, questioning the logic behind Jackson's actions.

"Yes, because I'm the dear old _daddy_ she never got to know. She trusts me and I think I may trust her a little too." Which was a weird thing for him to do or even say. There weren't many people he trusted, especially in the field of his chosen career.

_After all, she is my daughter… maybe she takes more after me than Lisa._

"You'd better be careful. Trusting that the job was finished and underestimating your target is what screwed up your last job," he said, offering his friend helpful advice because he didn't want to see him mess up another job. The Keefe job was still the most well known screw-up in their business world.

"They're two sixteen year old girls and one's terrified of me. What are they really going to do?"

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't be so cocky. Even _you_ were capable of screwing up royally with the girl's mother."

He found that the hand not holding the cell phone was slowly turning white from the force that he used to hold it. No matter how much time had passed, he still seemed to get incredibly angry whenever anybody mentioned his failure. He didn't fail and he was determined that it would never happen again. "Thanks for calling. I have to go now."

"I'll keep you updated with what's happening back here."

Flipping his phone shut, he hastily walked back down the hall to check on the two girls.

* * *

He saw them talking quietly and he knocked on Alexis' open door loudly. They both jumped, having been distracted and looked up at him. 

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, directing his glare towards Emily. "Alexis, do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Well then, I have some more work to finish up but it shouldn't take me long. I'll be right down the hall working if you need me." Directing the last part towards Emily, reminding her that even when he seemed distracted he made sure he kept and eye on them.

"Before you go," Alexis stopped him "Was that somebody from work? You seem to get a lot of phone calls."

"Yeah, just somebody who needed to ask me some questions about the job he's supposed to be doing for me."

"You know," Alexis started sweetly, hoping to find out information and prove Emily wrong. "You've never told me what you do for a living. You spend an awful lot of your time working here in your office or at the kitchen table. You're my father and I don't even know what you do for a living."

"Why the sudden interest in my job, Alexis?" He shot a glare at Emily that he knew Alexis hadn't picked up on. Had Emily finally done something stupid and told Alexis about his past? Maybe he was wrong to allow Emily to stay around Alexis for so long.

"I was just curious. It seems like a normal thing for a daughter to know what her father does for work."

"Well, you're not missing out on anything. I get business related jobs that require a lot of planning which is why I have to spend so much time working at home. If that's all you wanted Alexis, I'm going to do a little more work and then we can go get something for lunch."

"Alright."

Jackson turned to leave and walked down the hall, but slowed his pace as he heard Alexis whisper something to Emily. "See I told you so."

Emily didn't see why Alexis was so accepting of his vague answer. He hadn't really told her anything.

Jackson pretended to not have heard and continued towards his office. So Emily had finally decided to open her mouth? He would have to have a talk with her as soon as Alexis wasn't around to hear or see.

* * *

Alexis had wanted to get ready before lunch but now with Emily seeming so upset she felt bad leaving her. 

"Will you be okay by yourself for a little bit?" she asked.

Even if Jackson was nearby, he shouldn't have a reason to come bother Emily while she was gone and she wasn't planning on being away long. "I just want to take a quick shower before lunchtime."

"Yeah," Emily nodded slightly, becoming distracted at whether she had made the right decision. Alexis hadn't even believed her and now she had to worry about Jackson finding out. She'd rather Alexis stay with her so Jackson wouldn't have the opportunity to hurt her if he did know. However, what else was she supposed to say to Alexis to convince her otherwise, and how could she simply leave her friend behind?

* * *

Jackson looked up from his paperwork as he heard the water turn on. Setting down his pen, he decided that if Alexis was the one in the bathroom she wouldn't hear anything going on outside. Now might be his only chance to have his little talk with Emily for awhile since Alexis still seemed rather protective of her friend and her feelings. 

Emily curled up in the bed with her knees pressed to her chest. She was fighting back tears and trying to calm down. She heard footsteps and hoped that it was Alexis coming back from her shower. She looked up and saw Jackson instead. His blue eyes were cold and he looked angry. Shaking, she pushed herself further up the bed in a desperate attempt to stay away from him.

"You don't seem happy to see me," Jackson teased. "Now why would that be? Did you do something you weren't supposed to? "

Emily shook her head 'no', hoping to cover up what she had done if he hadn't figured it out.

"So you wouldn't know why my daughter has taken a sudden interest in my job?"

"No," she said quietly.

"I think we need to have another talk," Jackson threatened, grabbing Emily's arm and pulling her off the bed. This conversation would be best done somewhere else. Pushing Emily inside the small bedroom down the hall, which was actually closer to his office, he slammed the door shut.

"Now Emily," he said, sounding annoyed, "I don't have time for games. So you're going to stop lying to me, okay? Tell me exactly what you told Alexis?"

"I didn't tell her anything, I swear," Emily said, her voice shaking as she backed up.

Jackson raised his hand and smacked Emily across the face. "You really should learn to be more honest."

Emily let out a whimper as she raised her hand to her cheek.

"I thought we had an understanding. You didn't tell Alexis what you knew and your family remained unharmed?"

"No…..you can't."

"And why shouldn't I? I warned you this would happen. If I remember correctly from your school records, you have a little sister," he remarked, reaching for the phone on his hip. "Now what was her name?" he mocked. "How do you think your parents will handle losing another child?"

"Her name is Anna and she's only six years old," Emily said, grabbing for his phone as he began to dial, but he pulled his wrist out of her grasp each time. As she saw his threat becoming more real, she started crying more at the possibility of losing her little sister. She wasn't even hearing Jackson's conversation with the person on the other end.

"Please….please, don't do this. You should be punishing me, not my little sister. She has nothing to do with this. I promise I'll behave for you from now on."

"Never mind," Jackson said to the person on the phone, canceling the order to his co-worker. "I'll call you back if we have anymore problems."

Jackson snapped his phone shut and turned his attention back to Emily.

"Don't think I won't actually go through with it for real next time."

He turned to leave as he told Emily to stay. "I don't want you around my daughter as much anymore. I will not lose her because of you. You'll stay in here until I decide otherwise. If it was up to me, I would have killed you back in Miami."

With that he left, and Emily fell down on the floor, sobbing as she heard a key turning in the lock. She wondered what kind of story he'd tell Alexis to explain what had happened while she was in the shower.


	18. I won't let go

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I had this wrote and then was broken everytime I tried to upload it. Thanks to Royalty09 for her help with editing. Thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter. Enjoy and please remember to review. **

* * *

So here we are,  
back to the start again.  
Trying hard to wait till morning.

Hey rise and shine,  
and open up your eyes,  
To give this world some color.

Shine on diamond eyes,  
separate the space,  
Between love and lies,

And as days go by,  
the memories remain.  
I'll wait for you.  
And as days go by,  
the memories remain,  
**I won't let go.**

These days remain the same,  
pictures fade away.  
Please don't ever change,  
Please don't change your mind,  
No matter what they say,  
I'll always wait.

And as days go by,  
the memories remain.  
I'll wait for you.  
And as days go by,  
the memories remain,  
**I won't let go.**

These days remain the same,  
pictures fade away.

I hope you never,  
(I hope you never)  
fade away.

xX Hawthorne Heights Xx

-The Transition-

* * *

Alexis gathered up her discarded pajamas and walked them over to the bedroom before dropping them on her bed. She found it odd that Emily wasn't there and went walking around looking for her. She found Jackson first, settled in his office, quietly finishing up work just like he said. She decided to ask him first. Knocking lightly on the door, she let herself in, leaning slightly against the door. 

"I was wondering, since Emily's not in my room, do you know where she is?"

"She was causing trouble while you were getting ready. I had to make sure it didn't happen again."

"But…" Alexis started.

"Don't worry, she's fine and you can see her later tonight. Now go finish getting ready," Jackson stated, thinking he had said enough to get her to leave while he finished his last phone call.

"But dad…" Alexis began to complain "I want to see her now."

"That's enough Alexis." Jackson snapped getting annoyed at his daughter "Don't be questioning me when I've already told you my answer. Now either go get ready or I'm canceling our lunch plans."

"Fine" Alexis said reluctantly but it was for just a little bit she figured. _He said she was fine and Emily would tell me if he was hurting her wouldn't she. _

_At least Alexis seems to be feeling comfortable here with me, for now, _Jackson thought, flipping his phone open once again._ I would rather have Lisa agonizing over where her daughter is and if she's okay. Of course it would be interesting to see how much of an impact I've made on both Lisa and Alexis—I'm sure Lisa would be broken-hearted at the thought of our daughter choosing me over her…_

Dialing the number he knew so very well – Lisa's house – he waited patiently for someone to pick up.

* * *

Lisa had fallen asleep on the couch from exhaustion and worry. Upon hearing the phone ring, Landon moved her just enough to be able to get up to answer it in the kitchen. 

"Hello," he said, his voice sounding tired from the whole situation.

"I want to talk to Leese. Put her on the phone."

Even after all these years, Landon was still able to recognize his voice. "No, you've put her through enough. Just tell me what I have to do to get Alexis back."

"Maybe I don't want to give her back."

Landon could tell from Jackson's tone that he had that same cocky smirk on his face from the last time he briefly met him.

"You bastard; bring my daughter back."

"She's not yours, she's mine, and that's not ever going to change."

Lisa stirred on the couch obviously haven been woken by the yelling. And sleepily asked who was on the phone. Landon brushed her off, told her not to worry and to go back to sleep.

"Is it about Alexis?" she asked hopeful sitting up "Did the police find her?"

Landon pulled the phone away from his ear and held it against his chest. "It's nobody important, Leese, go lay back down. You need your rest and I'll be right back."

"Are you sure it's not somebody with information on Alexis. Are you lying to me?" Lisa accused him reaching for the phone to find out for herself.

"This phone call will only upset you." Landon stated plainly walking away so Lisa wouldn't hear the rest of the phone call.

"If it's about Alexis I want to know what's going on damn it" She said angrily following him. She didn't need to be protected from information. All she wanted was to get her daughter back safe.

"I promise I'll tell you everything when I'm done"

Lisa gave up the argument with Landon and decided he wasn't going to give up on protecting her. She went back and laid down on the couch waiting for Landon to come back to tell her anything.

Picking the phone back up in the other room Landon resumed his conversation "She's never going to be yours other than biologically" Landon yelled into the phone. "I'm her real father. She grew up with me not you."

"Well, that's debatable. Now put Lisa on the phone and maybe I'll let you talk to Alexis, okay?"

Landon weighed the options and in the end walked over to the couch with the phone.

"Leese, here talk" he directed handing her the phone

"Hello," she said, still sounding tired though she had woken up

"Miss me yet, Leese?"

"Jackson…" Lisa said nervously, nearly loosing her grip on the phone. She had realized that it was probably him that had her daughter, but hearing his voice after all these years was still a shock.

"Yes, it's me. You sound tired, Leese. Are you having trouble sleeping??"

He sounded happy about that fact, taking delight in any kind of pain he had managed to cause her.

"Well, you see, _somebody _kidnapped my daughter and I've had a hard time relaxing recently."

"Kidnap? Leese, don't you think that's kind of a harsh word? She _wants_ to be here with me."

"Liar," Lisa said, getting angry. _Why would Alexis willingly choose to stay with you?_

"You of all people should know that I never tell a lie, Leese. I may have bent the truth some, but I never lied."

"What have you told her?" Lisa asked accusingly.

_Just that you're a lying bitch, and that you only married Landon to cover up your pregnancy—nothing major… _

"Everything you refused to tell her when she was growing up," he said bluntly.

"So she obviously knows you're her father then?"

"Yes, and I've convinced her that if she leaves me now, she won't ever get to see me again."

"How does it feel to play with a teenager's emotions?" she spat angrily at him. _It's bad enough that you've manipulated me, but to pick on a vulnerable teenager? That's low, even for you…_

"Well, do you want to talk to her and get her opinion on the situation?"

"Yes, please let me talk to her." She was desperate to hear from Alexis. Lisa could hear Jackson yelling for Alexis in the background. Landon was sitting beside her, trying to pick up anything from the conversation.

* * *

Jackson handed Alexis the phone, which she accepted with a look of confusion. 

"Hello?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh my god, Alexis, I've been so worried. Are you okay? He hasn't hurt you or anything, has he?"

Alexis could hear the concern radiating in her mother's voice, which momentarily made her feel bad.

"I'm fine, and I'm sorry you've been worried."

"Alexis, sweetheart, whatever he's told you, please don't believe him. He's a dangerous man."

"No…I don't think so. He's told me more than you were ever willing to. I've finally found my father without any help from you!"

Her feelings of remorse for what her mother had been put through quickly disappeared when Lisa began to say terrible things about her father.

_Yeah, but how much of it is actually true? _Lisa thought.

"Tell me where you are. We'll come get you."

"I can't," Alexis said impatiently, which surprised and hurt her mother more than she must have realized.

"You can't because he's standing there, or you can't because you don't want to," Lisa said quietly, on the verge of breaking down on the phone.

"I don't want to. This is the only way I can spend time with him. I want to stay with him since I finally have a chance to know him. I'm sorry."

"Alexis, please don't do this to me."

"Don't you think I deserve the chance to finally know the father that you kept from me all these years?"

"There were reasons… just let me explain them to you!" Lisa said, almost pleading with her daughter to change her mind. She had never thought she would have to convince her own daughter to come home.

"I have to go," Alexis said in response to Jackson grabbing for the phone.

"See, Leese? She wants to stay with me. She told you herself."

"I hate you."

"I think we've established that, but it's not my fault that your daughter seems to hate you as well."

"That's because you've been brainwashing her," Lisa said.

"Aww, suck it up, Leese," he teased. "Why would I brainwash my own daughter? I've already won her over."


	19. I miss you so

_Where'd you go? _

_**I miss you so **_

_Seems like its been forever that you've been gone _

_Where'd you go? _

_**I miss you so **_

_Seems like its been forever that you've been gone _

_Please come back home _

_Where'd you go- Fort Minor _

_3 weeks later _

"Leese, this isn't healthy to be living like this," Landon said quietly.

Lisa rolled over in an effort to ignore her husband.

"I miss her too, but you can't spend the rest of your life in bed sleeping and wallowing in self pity over what you should have done. It's not going to help Alexis at all."

She finally sat up and Landon could see that she had been crying earlier. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately but only when she was alone. Landon had been able to be much stronger emotionally during this than she was and she hated for him to see her break down and cry.

"Then what exactly am I supposed to do? Nothing I do is going to bring her back."

"Well, the hotel called wondering when you were going to be back. Maybe it would be good for you to go back and get your mind off things? "

"What if she calls and I'm not home?" Lisa was still holding onto any hope that her daughter would return home to her. There had to be a part of her that still remembered the good things about her life here in Miami.

"She knows the number to the hotel," Landon reassured her. "Now why don't you get up and get dressed? I'll call the hotel and let them know you'll be in soon."

Landon had been really supportive through all of this even though she knew he was hurting just as much as she was. He loved Alexis just like she was his biological daughter. He was just better at hiding his emotions and feelings than Lisa was. She didn't know what she would have done without him to help her through this. Whenever she had been ready to give up hope that she wasn't going to see Alexis again, he was there to tell her she was wrong and that they had to keep looking.

_Landon truly cares, unlike him. Jackson is incapable of caring—even for his own daughter. With any luck, she'll be spared from knowing him as I do,_ Lisa hoped.

* * *

Alexis had been staying with her father for almost a month now and she grew more comfortable with him everyday. Slowly, she was beginning to forget about her old life in Miami. If Emily hadn't been there—a constant reminder of what she had left behind—she wasn't sure she would remember as much as she did. Jackson never talked to her about her other life and Alexis tried to not bring it up in conversations since it seemed to make her father uncomfortable or angry. Alexis had been trying to come up with a way to get Emily out since this started, but every plan seemed to hold the chance of him finding out.

There was no denying that her friend Emily had been changed by their current situation. She didn't speak unless spoken to and even then it was the minimum amount of words she could get away with. Even Alexis was having trouble getting her to open up in private. She wasn't even with Emily as much as she had been in the beginning. Emily had become like a broken toy that was more of an annoyance than anything else. Jackson almost always sent her to her bedroom during the day so he wouldn't have to deal with her.

During the day Alexis spent a lot of time with her father when he wasn't doing work. Since Emily, for some reason, seemed to want nothing to do with her, though Alexis knew nothing about Jackson's threats. At night they had their separate bedrooms now as Jackson felt she would be more comfortable that way. Or maybe it was to make it easier for her to forget her past life. She did feel guilty about how awful things must seem to Emily at times. Eventually things would be easier for them to maybe leave together, but she just couldn't get past the possibility that she may never see her father again if she did so. But even if she didn't leave, she was at least going to make sure Emily got the chance to.

Alexis had been helping Jackson clean up after dinner when she decided that she would finally bring up something she had been wondering about.

"I know you've told me why you couldn't be there before, but you never said what happened between you and mom. Why would she hate you so much that she would want to keep me away from you?"

"Well," Jackson paused, carrying some dishes over to the sink while he thought of what he should say in response. "She just didn't love me like I loved her I guess. Things just didn't work out."

"Would you have stayed if things did?"

"Of course," Jackson said with a smile, reassuring his daughter. He had been able to keep up the father act for awhile now, only losing his temper slightly on occasion. Alexis definitely saw a different side of him than Emily did. He was the father she never knew and Emily hated him. But she should be grateful he had kept her alive this long. Mostly he kept Emily alive because he was worried what Alexis would think if she came back home and found Emily gone. Otherwise, he would have dumped the added burden a while ago.

Having that question answered, she worked up the courage to ask him something else she knew probably wouldn't make him happy.

"So I was thinking maybe you would be able to let Emily go home. I don't even get why she has to be here. She's my friend and I think she hates me."

_No_, Jackson thought, _she's just smart and following my orders to stay away from you._

"I have to do something to make it up to her Dad, please. All she does is spend her time in that small bedroom when she deserves to be home with her family."

If she couldn't find a way to help Emily escape maybe she could convince her father that it had been long enough and she was no longer a threat.

"I thought I told you why Emily has to stay, Alexis."

"I know, but she's not going to tell. I told her that she could tell my parents I was alright and that was it."

"What if she did? It would ruin everything. Do you want to be taken away from me and go back to your old life in Miami? The one you seemed to loathe so much while you had it. Is that what you really want, Alexis? Maybe I should just drive you back to your other parents right now," Jackson said, getting angry at her.

"No… I want to stay with you, I really do. I just don't want my friend to have to be here and be so miserable. You know she doesn't want to be here like I do."

"I'm sorry, Alexis. I do want you to be happy but I just don't think I can let her go home yet. You understand, right?" He said softly, trying to sound as sympathetic to her wants as possible. He did want her to be happy here but she wasn't going to leave him regardless.

"I guess." She wasn't really sure if she meant that though. But to make herself feel better about it she told herself that he really wasn't mistreating her that she knew of, besides the whole kidnapping part.

_But is it even kidnapping when your abductor is your father? Sure, he may have kidnapped Emily, but he had too. It would have ruined things otherwise. However, he didn't steal me. I chose to be here._

* * *

**A/N:** **As I was updating I found it a little ironic that Montel and John Walsh our on my TV talking about what parents can do to protect their children from becoming victims of kidnapping. And there's a mother whose ex-husband took their daughter during a scheduled visitation in an attempt to turn her against her mother and make his ex-wife come back to him. **

**I know there are people who think it's not reasonable for Emily to still be there. But Jackson really can't dispose of her without Alexis finding out because that would be a pretty hard thing to cover up. She's only in like one more chapter though which I thought about moving up but it just seemed to make things to rushed. I also think it's realistic for Lisa to be such an emotional wreck still. Hopefully nobody is thinking she's OOC. **

**Thanks to Royalty09 for her editing help. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. **

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	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I apologize for the lateness in updating. I realize it's been like a month. But I really have no excuse for that other than I kinda started losing motivation for finishing this story. So if your enjoying reading the story or would like to leave any kind of feedback please leave me a review. :) I'm sure it would greatly help with my motivation and show me that people are still interested. Thanks to the people who did review the last chapter. And to Royalty09 for looking over this chapter for me. **

* * *

"I have to go into work today for a little bit," Jackson announced after he had finished making lunch and cleaning up the kitchen. He had been working from his house for the past couple of weeks so he could keep an eye on Alexis and Emily, but now he felt comfortable leaving them there by themselves and there were some things he wasn't able to do from his home. He was confident that they would be there when he got home. Alexis was so concerned about their relationship being ruined she would make sure she kept Emily in line while he was away.

"Work?" Alexis asked, slightly disappointed because she was beginning to enjoy having him home with her.

"Yes, at my real job. I have to finish up the work I've been doing from home at my office. The teaching thing was just a way to get close to you without your mother finding out. You know she wouldn't have approved otherwise."

"Oh," Alexis said in surprise. She knew he spent a lot of time working at the house but she never actually thought about the details of his life before. "Since we're on that subject, don't you think I should start school here soon? I can't just stop going."

"We can discuss it tonight when I get home. I won't be gone long. I'll try to be home by dinner. You can call me if you need anything, Alexis."

He pulled on his coat and grabbed the briefcase that held all of his important files; files that he didn't want her to see.

"Alright," she answered, not looking up from what she was reading. Emily didn't acknowledge that he was talking and walked back to the bedroom after she had finished eating. She had realized it was much easier to not fight with him, that passivity kept her family safe. Alexis knew as much as she wanted her father to stay home she could easily get Emily out of the house. She'd worry about the consequences of her actions later.

* * *

Half an hour later, after her father had left and she was convinced he wasn't coming back for anything he had forgotten, she set her book down and ran back to the bedroom where Emily had gone. Not bothering to knock, Alexis let herself in the room. Emily jumped slightly at the door opening, suddenly thinking it might be Jackson. She was relived and calm down considerably when she saw it was Alexis.

"Pack anything you want to take but do it quick."

"What?" Emily asked in alarm as she rose from the bed.

"I'm getting you out of here, but we have to do it now while my dad isn't home."

"But what about you? Won't you please come with me?" Emily pleaded with her friend.

"Emily, you know my answer to that. He's my father and I want to stay."

"After everything's he's done? You're going to stay with him just because he's your father? Can't you see what he's doing to you? You have a father back home in Miami—a father who really and truly loves you!"

"He loves me too!" Alexis protested, growing angry with her best friend.

"Oh, really?" Emily questioned. "So you're just going to forget everything, just like that?"

"Look, Emily, I don't have time to argue with you. Either you want to leave or not, but no matter what, I'm not going with you."

"Well, do you remember me telling you that the father that you love oh so very much kills people for a living?"

"Does not!" Alexis yelled as she walked away. "He's just a regular businessman who spends too much time on paperwork. He doesn't kill people."

She didn't want to deal with this right now. She was trying to be nice and help Emily get away and all her friend wanted to do was bad mouth her father to get her to come with her.

"That's how he knows your mother. She was supposed to make some phone call that would kill a guy. I found an old newspaper article and read everything about it," Emily stated as she reached out to grab Alexis' arm using it to turn her around.

"No, they had a relationship together that didn't work out!"

_Why are you lying to me? I thought we were friends!_ Alexis wondered. _He's my father—doesn't that mean anything to you?_

"That's what _he_ told you. Who are you going to believe—your best friend or some father you just met?"

"You just want me to leave with you and then I'll never see him again."

"I'm not lying to you!" protested Emily. "I found information about him and was coming to warn you and instead I ran into him. Did you ever think to ask why exactly he felt the need to kidnap and drug me if all he wanted was you?"

"I don't know," she said, trying to come up with an explanation but actually just making herself more confused. "But he's not this terrible person you make him out to be! He can't be" Alexis argued, becoming frustrated with the whole situation.

_None of this can be true. My father wouldn't lie to me like that. He loves me and would have only told me the truth. It's my mother who is the bad guy here. My mother was the one that had refused to tell me about him every time I asked… My mother who refused to let me see him when she knew all those years._

_My father can't be a bad person—he has always been nice to me. Except for the occasions I did something to upset him and he got angry with me, but those were my fault. Anyone would have been upset by the things I did. All I want to do is be able to please him and make him happy. If I don't, he might leave me again and I've lived without him so long that I'm not sure if I could handle being without him. I don't want to lose him for a second time… _

"Father or not, he's kidnapped you too and he's keeping you away from your family in Miami. You just can't see it because he's brainwashed you into thinking you _**want**_ to be here with him!"

"My _father _hasn't brainwashed me into anything. I want to be here!"

"You've changed, Lex. The old you wouldn't think it was okay to cause her parents this much pain."

"I'm sorry, Emily, but if I leave then he's going to go to jail and I'll never see him again. I can't let that happen."

"That's because he belongs in jail for kidnapping and whatever else he's done in the past!"

"No, he belongs here with me—his daughter. He's my father, Emily!"

"Will you stop making up so many damn excuses for him?" Emily snapped.

Grabbing the bag that held her clothing and other necessities she thought she might need, Emily headed towards the front door. "I guess I can't force you to come with me, but you should know that he is dangerous. You're putting yourself in danger by staying here. He's going to be mad at you for letting me leave."

"No, it'll be okay. I can handle it. I just can't handle you being so miserable. I've been kind of selfish, I know, and I'm sorry. But we'll see each other again soon and I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"I'm going to miss you," Emily said sadly, torn between her freedom and the friend she would have to leave behind.

"Me too," Alexis said as she hugged Emily goodbye. "Remember you promised you wouldn't say anything to my parents."

"I know," she said, quietly forcing herself to leave without Alexis.

Emily hadn't wanted to leave Alexis behind but couldn't stay just for her sake. She had done all she could, Alexis would have to learn the truth on her own.

Jackson must have trusted that Alexis would make sure she didn't go anywhere since he was so worried about being found. But he had underestimated Alexis' ability to still feel guilty about some things. Emily really hoped that leaving wouldn't cause too much trouble for Alexis after he came home and found her missing. Since she spent at least an hour of the day arguing with Alexis about the mistake she was making, Emily didn't want to waste any time she had to find help before he would inevitably come looking for her. He, of course, didn't want his secrets being told and he could very easily kill her now like he had been wanting and Alexis would never know.

Alexis was the only reason Emily had survived with Jackson for so long. If her disappearance and ultimate death wouldn't have raised so many questions, she wouldn't be here right now. Emily had no reason to think otherwise.


	21. Cause we are broken

A/N: It was my birthday last week so you should all leave me reviews as presents. :) Feedback helps me write better and motivates me. I was kinda nervous about posting this chapter mostly because I was afraid I was making Lisa seem too emotional and such. But I figured with her daughter missing and her knowing what Jackson is capable of it's okay for her to be having trouble dealing and coping. And well men don't normally show emotions so naturally Landon is the logical/reasonable one. And also thanks to Royalty09 for taking the time to edit this chapter. Thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter I appreciate it.

For anybody who notices there is a little continuity issue I plan on going back and fixing in the finale of the last story that contridicts the flashback I wanted to write since Lisa isn't at the hospital in the flashback. And in the finale it's stated that she does go with them.

* * *

_**Cause we are broken**  
What must we do to restore  
Our innocence  
And all the promise we adored?  
Give us life again  
Cause we just wanna be whole _

_x Paramore x_

Following Landon's suggestion that she needed to get her mind off of Alexis' disappearance, Lisa returned to work at the Lux Atlantic the following day. Her co-workers had seemed to be functioning fine inher absence, but she knew she couldn't just stay home the rest of her life.

It wasn't until she arrived at work and started the routine of her duties as manager that she realized how tiresome the whole situation had become.

The hotel had been busy that morning which Lisa found a welcoming distraction. She put a smile on and pretended to be happy as soon as she walked in the hotel. She didn't want the customers' fake concern; if they cared to begin with, that is. Most of them were too concerned with their rooms not having enough towels or some other trivial problem.

The things that these people were complaining about weren't even a big deal. Her daughter having been kidnapped by her psycho father, now _that_ was big deal and she was still managing to keep up the constant people pleasing attitude despite it all.

Lisa finally got a much needed break when the constant stream of customers stopped. Leaning against the front desk, she attempted to keep herself awake. The endless cups of coffee she had downed since she arrived didn't seem to be having much of an effect. Without realizing it her head was starting to fall forward and she gave into the sleep she so desperately needed. She wasn't asleep for more than a few minutes before the phone beside her rang loudly. Realizing what she had done she composed herself quickly and switched back into her happy mode. After answering the customer's question about room vacancies, she set the phone back down and decided to make use of the computer. If she kept busy she couldn't really fall asleep.

Cynthia had been doing some paperwork to help Lisa out and came back into the lobby area when she finished up. Seeing her bedraggled form working at the computer, she couldn't help but think that maybe it was too soon for Lisa to be back.

"Leese, you okay? You know I can handle things longer if you want to take more time off."

"No, I'm fine." _Because it's completely normal to fall asleep at work, _she thought to herself.

"Of course you are," Cynthia answered sarcastically. "You know its okay to let people see how you are really feeling sometimes."

"I said I was fine."

Lisa really didn't feel like getting into an argument over her well being and hoped Cynthia would just drop the matter. Cynthia knew better than to keep pressing the matter with Lisa and attempted to preoccupy herself with work at the front desk.

They continued on in silence, Lisa working at the computer while Cynthia filled out paper work. Cynthia hadn't attempted to talk to her again about how she was feeling since it seemed to make Lisa angry the first time. Their awkward silence was broken up by the bell dinging above the entrance to the lobby. Upon seeing the customers Lisa forgot about being angry at Cynthia and changed back into her happy mode.

"Can I help you?" she asked as cheerfully as she could manage.

"We were hoping that you had a room available."

Lisa couldn't help but be distracted by the young teenage girl that was traveling with who she guessed was her mother. _She looks just like Alexis except this girl's eyes are green and her brown hair is straight._

"We're only in Miami for a couple of days but my daughter's in a gymnastics competition down here. I didn't really want to travel this far but she wanted to come so badly I couldn't say no."

_Alexis did gymnastics for about a year when she was younger. Until she decided she liked playing soccer better. Why couldn't I have a relationship with my daughter like the couple standing in front of me? All Alexis and I seemed to do recently was fight. _

_Would that have really changed anything, _she wondered. _Would Alexis be home with me right now if I had been more honest? Maybe I deserved this since Alexis thought I was such a terrible mother. _

The more she thought about her daughter and gazed at the young girl standing right in front of her the more upset she made herself. Biting her lower lip, she attempted to maintain the mask of her fake happiness.

"Miss, are you okay?" the older lady asked upon noticing the change in the girl's mood.

"I'm sorry for that. I'm fine, really. It's just your daughter reminds me of my own and she used to do gymnastics when she was little."

"How old is she now?"

"She just turned 16 not too long ago. You seem to have a much better relationship with your daughter though," Lisa said as she typed their information into the computer forcing herself to maintain her cheery disposition.

"It's a teenage thing, I think. I'm sure you're a wonderful mother," the woman said reassuringly. "It'll get easier when she gets older, you'll see."

_Except this lady doesn't realize that I may never get the chance to repair our relationship or even see her grow older… _

"I can't do this. Cynthia, could you finish this for me?"

Cynthia quickly set down the folders she was fiddling with and appeared beside Lisa.

"Sure, Leese. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just going to go do some work in the back."

"Sorry about that. She's not normally like that but she's going through a difficult time right now," Cynthia explained as she swiped their two room keys to activate them. "Enjoy your stay," she said cheerfully as she handed the room keys over to them.

Once Lisa had shut the door behind her she took a deep breath as she slumped into her chair. The back was fairly quiet for the middle of the day and she was grateful for that.

She wondered if she would ever be able to go back to a normal life without her daughter. Alexis' condition was constantly weighing on her mind: wondering if she was okay and how she was being treated by Jackson.

It was all her fault. She could have prevented this if only she had been more involved in her daughter's life. If she had been more open and honest about her father she wouldn't have fallen for his lies. Then Alexis would have known that he could never be the kind of father she was hoping for. She would have realized how dangerous he was and would want to make every effort to come back home to her. Alexis would have known from the start that the teacher who had befriended her wasn't who he appeared to be.

Someone knocking on the door interrupted her feelings of guilt and she quickly rubbed at her eyes. "Yeah?" she called out, hoping that her shaky voice wouldn't give away her feelings

Cynthia tried the door handle and let herself in when she found it was unlocked. "Leese, you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Why does everybody keeping asking me that?"

"Maybe it's because your daughter's been missing for almost a month and you just seem to be getting worse?"

"I just needed a little break. I can help now," she stated with a fake smile to prove her point.

"You don't have to convince me of anything. Maybe you should go home for the day. I don't think you're ready to be back at work."

* * *

Unable to convince Cynthia she was perfectly capable of working and too tired to really do so, Lisa finally gave in and drove back home. 

Discarding her purse and keys by the front door, she wandered into the kitchen to check the answering machine. _Maybe she was unable to reach me at the hotel and called home? _No new messages were recorded and she thought for a moment that the phone might not be working properly, but after hearing the dial tone in the background she realized that it was just wishful thinking.

She decided she couldn't do this much longer. Pulling open the refrigerator door, she searched for the bottle of liquor she had hidden recently. She wasn't really drinking to get drunk; just drinking enough to relax. Landon didn't approve of this newly acquired habit of hers, which is why she had taken to hiding it. Pouring some orange juice into a glass she mixed that with the vodka she had taken from the fridge.

She carried the now almost empty glass as she walked up the stairs to Alexis' bedroom. She'd been avoiding it the whole time Alexis was missing, keeping the door shut because it brought back to many memories otherwise. But now she had a strong urge to be close to her daughter even if it meant just being in her bedroom.

Opening the door for first time since Alexis went missing she noticed all the clothes on the floor that her daughter had never put away_. I told her to clean up this room before she left for school that day and she never did. _Lisa made no effort to straighten up. She wanted it to stay just as Alexis had left it when she finally came back home. Placing her finished drink on the nightstand, she fell onto the bed, curling up and clutching Alexis' favorite stuffed animal.

The black and white dog that Alexis had named Parker was worn from all the years she had kept him. Parker was a bribe from Landon when she was three for being good and sitting still while the doctor at the hospital fixed her arm. _Whoever says that you shouldn't bribe your children has never had to deal with a fidgety toddler who was scared of the doctor._ After Landon handed her the stuffed animal, Alexis had stopped caring about the doctor who kept asking to see her arm. Now it was one of the few important keepsakes her daughter had left behind.

"I'm so sorry for everything," Lisa said, apologizing to no one in particular. The tears she had been hiding from everybody for so long were now running down her cheeks. She was still feeling incredibly guilt stricken over the situation she had put her daughter in. If she had it do over again, she'd have done things differently; Alexis would have known the truth about her father much sooner.

Lisa's guilt was replaced with the constant worry over how Jackson was treating Alexis. She had sounded fine on the phone but Lisa knew Jackson too well and she knew he possessed quite a temper. He could become enraged quite easily if Alexis did something to upset him, of that, Lisa was certain. He'd already demonstrated the fact that she was his daughter meant little to him. He hadn't thought twice before twisting her arm and breaking it all those years ago.

The exhaustion, coupled with the alcohol was making it much harder for her to stay awake, despite her tightened grip on the stuffed animal, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Landon arrived home from work at his normal time and went looking for Lisa when he noticed her car in the driveway and her purse by the door. Not finding her anywhere on the first floor, he started calling out her name. 

Climbing the stairs, he did notice that even though the light was turned off in their daughter's bedroom the door had been opened slightly. _Chances are Lisa's in there_.

Clicking on the small lamp beside the bed, he could see evidence that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and the mascara she had applied for work had become smeared. He lifted the small glass from the nightstand and frowned at the thought of Lisa turning to alcohol for comfort. He took care of washing the glass out in the kitchen before returning upstairs.

When he came back, Landon first noticed how tightly Lisa was gripping Parker as she slept. It reminded him of when he had first handed Alexis' the stuffed dog in the hospital and how his daughter had refused to let go of the toy.

* * *

_After picking Alexis up from the police station, Landon called Joe to let him know to meet him at the hospital. Joe sounded worried until Landon reassured him it wasn't for anything major. Alexis refused to let go of her father since they had been reunited. Her clinginess was understandable considering what she had just been through. He was trying to wait patiently in the hospital, entertaining his young daughter until her name was called. Carrying her back to the examination room when it was her turn, he tried to sit her down on the examination table. He ended up having to sit down with her as Alexis curled up against his chest. When the doctor entered the room he tried to be extra friendly to the already frightened little girl sitting with her father. _

"_I hear you hurt you arm. Could I maybe see it?"_

_Alexis shook her head no; cradling her injured arm and holding it closer to her chest. It already hurt enough and she didn't want some other stranger touching it and making it worse._

"_Don't you want your arm to feel better?" the doctor asked calmly, remaining patient._

"_Yes," she said quietly, which was somewhat muffled by the fact she was still turned into her father. _

"_Then you have to let me see your arm," the doctor tried to rationalize with her. Landon attempted to help the man by turning her in his lap. Using his own hands he tried to gently expose the arm she was hiding. _

"_No!" she screamed at her father's attempt. "It hurts!" _

"_I realize that, Alexis, but the doctor will make it feel better. I promise."_

"_I want mommy!" she yelled suddenly, starting to cry from both the pain and fear._

"_You and me both," Landon said quietly. _

"_Look, Alexis, your mother isn't here right now but she would want you to listen to the doctor. Now show him your arm," Joe stated, trying to remain calm but the fact that Lisa was still missing was causing him to be a little impatient and angry with his granddaughter. _

_The doctor attempted a new method of convincing the toddler to work with him. "See that jar on the counter? You can have one of the lollipops inside if I can see your arm."_

_Nothing seemed to be making this easier and Landon found himself wishing Lisa was here. __She would have been able to get Alexis to cooperate_

"_Alexis you need to stop this and let the doctor see your arm so he can fix it," Landon admonished. _

_Alexis didn't respond or cooperate._

"_I'll be right back," he announced, trying to hand Alexis over to her grandfather when his previous statement didn't persuade her. _

"_Daddy!" she cried at having been separated from him once already._

"_I'm going to be right back sweetheart."_

_Leaving the examination room, he headed straight towards the gift shop nearby. Somehow he was going to get Alexis to let the doctor put a cast on her broken arm. If he had to bribe her to accomplish that then he would. Looking at the wall of stuffed animals, he quickly picked up a furry dog since that was her favorite animal-- at least for the moment. When he returned, he held it behind his back so she wouldn't be able to see it at first. Alexis jumped down from her grandfather's lap and ran back over to her father when he came back into the room. Bending on his knee, he got closer to her level. _

"_I have something for you if you'll let the doctor fix your arm." _

"_What is it?" she asked curiously, still supporting the injured arm that she was so intent on shielding from everybody else. _

_Bringing the animal from behind his back, Alexis smiled and reached to grab for it with her good arm. "The doggy is only for little girls who listen to their doctors though," Landon teased, pulling it away slightly. "Are you going to let the doctor look at your arm if I give him to you?" _

"_Okay," she said, giving in and grabbing at the dog in his hand as she allowed her father to lift her onto the examination table. Finally holding her arm out Alexis held tight to the new stuffed animal for comfort. _

"_Good girl." _

_Lisa would have been mad at him, he was sure, for bribing their daughter, but at least he finally got her to listen to him and allow the doctor to do some much needed work. _

_

* * *

_He knew he couldn't let her keep sleeping in their daughter's room. If she woke up in here it would just end up triggering more memories. Pulling her fingers away from the animal, he set it back against the pillow. As carefully as he could, he lifted her up off the bed and carried her down the hall. He thought about waking her and having a serious talk about her drinking and seemingly never changing depressed state, but right now she needed whatever sleep she was able to get. He loved Alexis just as much as Lisa did but she really needed to start pulling herself together. It wasn't bad enough he lost his daughter but now he felt like he was losing his wife too. 

"I'm sorry," she mumbled in her sleep, obviously still dreaming about Alexis and what she could have done to stop it.

"Shhh, Leese," he said quietly in an effort to calm her. "It's okay now. Go back to sleep," he coaxed "We'll talk later".


	22. As your lies crumble down

_Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy  
One look puts the rhythm in my head  
Still I'll never understand why you hang around  
I see what's going down_

_Cover up with makeup in the mirror  
Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again  
You cry alone and that he swears he loves you _

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
**As your lies crumble down**, a new life she has found_

_A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect  
Every action in this world will bear a consequence  
If you wait around forever you will surely drown  
I see what's going down_

_I see the way you go and say you're alright again  
Say you're alright again  
Heed my lecture_

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found_

_Face down in the dirt she says "this doesn't hurt"  
She says " I've finally had enough"  
Face down in the dirt she says "this doesn't hurt"  
She says " I've finally had enough"_

_One day she will tell you that she has had enough  
It's coming round again_

_Face Down_

_The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus _

Jackson entered the house after work. It seemed fairly quiet, but he didn't think much of it at the time. Instead he went into his office and put his papers away before deciding to check on Alexis and Emily. Usually Alexis greeted him whenever he returned home.

He walked down the hall and knocked on her bedroom door.

"Alexis?" he called before letting himself in.

Alexis was lying on her back reading a book he had given her when he entered and she jumped up from the bed to greet him.

"I didn't realize you would be home so soon," Alexis said, dreading the conversation she knew was coming. "How was your day?"

"Long. Did everything go okay here while I was gone?"

"Yeah, fine," she answered casually

"Where's Emily?" He asked his daughter since she was obviously by herself. "Is she in the other bedroom?"

"Ummm…well….," she started nervously, unsure of how to phrase it.

"Alexis what did you do? Where is she?"

"She's well….I…uh," she stammered.

"What happened?" Jackson demanded, growing angry as he moved to check to check the other bedroom.

Alexis grabbed her father's arm, hoping to explain herself before he found out.

"I let her leave….," she said, dropping her head down, "please don't be mad at me."

"What the hell were you thinking Alexis?" Jackson shouted.

"She wasn't happy here. What we were doing was wrong," Alexis said, trying to reason with her father. "It was wrong for me to want her here and it was just as wrong for you to keep her here. Her family deserved to have their daughter back."

"I told you over and over again why she had to stay here. I thought you understood."

"I'm sorry. It's just…."

"You're sorry…_you're sorry,_" he said, cutting her off. "Do you realize how much trouble I went through to get you away from your mother so we could be together? I could go to jail if your mother finds out where we are. Is that what you want, Alexis, is it?" He asked, getting angrier as he closed in on her.

"No…," Alexis answered, nervously backing up. "I want to be here with you, I do. I just wanted Emily to be able to go back home too."

"I don't care what _you_ want. I am your father and you will do as I say."

"But she's my friend!" she shouted back at him. "I couldn't do this to her any longer."

Jackson raised his hand and stuck Alexis across her cheek. "Don't you ever talk back to me again, understand?"

Alexis whimpered and nodded her head _yes_ as she raised her hand to her stinging red cheek.

"I trusted you to stay here with her and you went behind my back. I obviously need to stay home more with you."

As Jackson finished his sentence, he quickly realized what he had allowed himself to do – act brashly out of anger – and dropped his heated tone.

"I'm sorry Alexis. I didn't mean too…."

"You hit me," she said, backing away in utter shock while pressing her palm against her cheek. _Was this side of her father that he had finally shown who he really was? Was his temper maybe why her mother was so against her finding anything out about him? Had her mother really just been trying to protect her from him all this time? He did say he was sorry though and it's not like he didn't have a reason to be angry with her she began to rationalize. It wouldn't happen again she convinced herself. Her father wasn't normally like this. _

"I didn't mean to, really. I promise it won't happen again. Let me look at it. I just got so angry at the idea of losing you, okay?"

Sniffling, Alexis nodded, taking a couple steps towards him and removing her hand, allowing her father to examine her reddened cheek.

"Does it still hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. I just need some time alone, okay?"

"I really didn't mean to, Alexis," Jackson yelled after her when she left, but all he heard in response was Alexis slamming her bedroom door shut.

"_You've screwed things up now,"_ Jackson thought.

He needed to fix things and keep his temper under control until he was able to move her out of Florida so it wouldn't be possible for her to get back to Miami so easily. Alexis couldn't get scared of him when they were only a few hours away from her home.

* * *

As long as Alexis was busy ignoring him it was time for him to do some damage control. He'd find Emily before she got any help. This was the reason his company purchased homes that were in a more rural setting. On foot she'd never make it town before he found her. Jackson was going to make sure she was punished for her disobedience. 

_And she had been doing so good listening to me_ he thought. Jackson had actually allowed himself to believe from her behavior that he had broken the young girl and she would cause him no more problems.

This was the chance he had been waiting for though. He'd finally be able to get rid of the brat once and for all. The best part was Alexis would never find out and if she did it would be too late for him to care. His daughter would be his alone and Lisa would never get her back now.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long delay in updating. I've been busy with a second job I got waitressing which I kinda suck at still obviously according to people complaining about stupid things that don't matter. Thanks to Royalty09 for her help in editing this chapter and the people who reviewed the last chapter. And since the reviewer Josie didn't fill in an e-mail address I would like to say thank you to her for the encouraging words. I would appreciate any kind of feedback on this chapter as well. 


	23. Cat and Mouse

A/N: Sorry for such a long delay in posting this new chapter. I really have no excuse for that except being busy. Hopefully the wait will be worth it and not too many readers will be upset with what happens in the chapter. Thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter and to Royalty09 for her help with editing.

* * *

Emily walked fast not knowing how much time it might take if Jackson decided to come looking for her. It would have made more sense to walk through the wooded area and stay out of view. But she already had no clue where she was and was afraid to get lost even more than she already was. After much debate with herself she decided she would stick to the highway for the time being at least.

* * *

Jackson grew impatient as he drove along and saw nothing more than the occasional car. She'd turn up soon though, he was confident of that. With the time he had been gone, there was no way she would have been able to make it all the way to town on foot. Jackson had made her so scared of ever trusting ordinary people again he was sure Emily would be heading to the nearest police station.

Jackson pulled over and braked abruptly when he finally spotted the dark haired teenager along the side of the road. The slamming of the car door somewhere behind her caused Emily to pick up her pace. With little traffic passing her as it got later in the evening, she knew it wasn't a coincidence someone seemed to be following her now.

"Didn't anybody tell you it's dangerous for a young girl like yourself to be walking alone at night? Something bad could happen," Jackson taunted after catching up to Emily.

Emily's body tensed up at the sound of his voice and she realized she needed to get away from him before he caught up. The surrounding woods on both sides of the highway would at least give her some time to lose him. Jackson looked around for any witnesses before running off into the woods after her. He walked slowly keeping an eye out for any place a small girl could be hiding. The longer she made him wait, the worse it would be for her. He hated people wasting his time. She was only prolonging the inevitable.

Emily crouched behind a large tree while clamping her hand over her mouth to silence her heavy breathing. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. _"He can't find me, he can't." _She refused to go back with him. She wouldn't allow him to continue hurting her.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Jackson coaxed. "You don't want anything bad to happen to Alexis do you? She's back at the house waiting for me and I have to say I wasn't too happy about her helping you leave. But if you won't come out maybe I should just punish her instead?"

Surely, Jackson thought, she wouldn't stay hidden when her best friend's safety was being threatened.

"_He's lying_," she convinced herself. _"He wouldn't hurt his own daughter would he?"_

No, she had to stay hidden as long as possible. As soon as he found her it would be over. Any chance of her getting help would be gone. Emily was sure about that.

"Come out now, Emily and I promise to be nice."

Jackson tried to sound as genuine as possible in his promise.

Emily's foot slipped as she tried to sit still, snapping a nearby branch in half. Jackson picked up on the slight noise and headed in her direction. He would be able to find her now.

Emily didn't even have a chance to try and run away before she felt hands roughly grabbing her and pulling her to her feet.

"No," she cried out, struggling against him. "Let me go, let me go."

"Think you're so smart, huh?" Jackson yelled, pushing the young girl up against a nearby tree to stop her from moving. "Did you really think you could hide from me out here?"

The only response Emily seemed to make was a faint whimpering from the pain of the pressure he was applying he was applying to her small arms.

"I tried being nice and kept you alive this long for Alexis' sake. Then you go and repay me by doing something like this. You think you would have learned to behave by now."

Alexis had risked a lot more than she realized when she helped Emily and she wasn't going to give up so easily. "Please, just let me go home. I'm not going to tell anyone. I don't even know where we are right now," she pleaded, as she began to cry and her body started to shake, unable to control herself any longer. She felt so scared being trapped here with him.

Jackson studied the young girl before him who looked so pitiful at the moment. Her face was streaked with tears and he could tell she was absolutely terrified of him at the moment. This made him quite happy indeed, but would it be enough to guarantee she wouldn't try something like this again if he took her back to his house. She had nearly ruined his plans once and he certainly didn't _need_ her. He could keep Alexis away from Lisa either way at this point in the game. She was little more than a nuisance; an unnecessary problem to his carefully laid plans. It would be much easier to disappear with his daughter without Emily as excess baggage.

"You going back home to Miami just isn't possible, Emily."

Jackson pretended to look sympathetic and then began smiling at the girl's suffering.

"Any home you may go back to would be mine."

He thought it was a nice gesture on his part, giving her the option of returning with him and living just a little longer.

"No, I won't go back with you. I hate you!"

She may not have been able to get her arms free, but she realized at this point she did have some use of her legs. Emily struck quickly, hitting him square on the shin.

Jackson's attention momentarily switched from holding onto Emily and grabbing a hold of his now throbbing leg. This was the reaction she'd been hoping for and she took the opportunity to run away from him as fast as possible.

"You little bitch," Jackson yelled, running after her. She was going to pay for that as soon as he caught up with her.

When he finally did, he shoved her to the ground, straddling her body so that, this time, he would have control over her legs and arms. "Why can't you just behave for me? I've already made it clear that you're not leaving me and all your succeeding in doing is pissing me off more. Do it again and it's not just going to be you that I take it out on."

"You can't touch Alexis or else she'll find out the truth about you and hate you too. She's your daughter and you don't even care about her. She's just part of some kind of game that you insist on playing. Why couldn't you just leave her family and me alone?" Emily yelled at him, trying her best to regain her composure so she didn't appear so weak even though she was quite terrified at the moment. She tried again to free her arms, but his greater strength kept them pinned firmly at her sides.

"Maybe not, but all that really matters for now is that Alexis believes I care about her and our relationship. Whether she hates me later or not won't affect the purpose she's serving for me."

"Why don't you just let her go home to the family that actually cares about her?"

"Because where would the fun be in that?" Jackson answered cheerfully. "No, Lisa deserves this and Alexis is mine."

She had never believed she could talk Jackson into letting her go, but she had to at least try. But it was useless; she had but one other option.

"Help! Somebody please help me," Emily screamed as loud as possible, hoping somebody passing on the highway would hear her. It was her last desperate chance at getting help.

Jackson let go of her arms and quickly placed a hand over her mouth to silence her while his other hand applied pressure to her throat.

"That was stupid, Emily. Now, listen to me, you little brat and listen closely. I'm tired of dealing with you and your games and I'm quickly losing my patience."

With her arms finally freed Emily clawed at Jackson hands, both of which were now around her neck. She knew she had to make him let go.

"I….can't…breath," she gasped, trying to get air into her lungs as she pleaded with him once again.

"Speak up, Emily, I can't hear you," he taunted, as she continued to pull uselessly at his hands.

"Please stop…," she begged of him, as it became harder and harder to breathe.

"This is your fault, Emily. You shouldn't have made me angry…kids like you who can't obey rules deserve to be punished. You wouldn't even be in this situation right now if you hadn't tried to run away. This is something I should have and would have done back in Miami if Alexis hadn't been around. But she's not here now, is she?"

"Please don't hurt Alexis."

Strange, but at the moment Emily found herself more worried about what was going to happen to her friend in the future rather than her own fate. Alexis was safe for now, but Emily didn't want anyone else to suffer under Jackson's unpredictable temper.

Emily's vision became fuzzy and that final plea sapped her remaining energy. She felt weak, sorry that she had not been able to help her friend just a little more.

Jackson, for his part, knew he would win this fight from the very beginning. He was full grown man and she was a young, small teenager. He held on a few minutes longer once he felt her hands relax before finally loosening his grip. Slowly, he rose to his feet and began taking steps to cover up what he'd just done. Precautions needed to be taken to make sure nobody found out about her death, especially Alexis. But if Emily's body was found, Jackson would worry about dealing with his daughter's feelings towards him when that time came. Until then, he dismissed those concerns and focused on the task at hand.

Jackson walked back to his car after he was satisfied with _clean up_. He wouldn't say that he had necessarily planned on or had wanted to kill Emily when he left the house that evening, but the impetuous, young thing had caused him too many and that was just unacceptable in his line of work.

On the way back to his house, he stopped at a pizza shop to pick up dinner for both him and Alexis. This way if she asked where he had been he would have something believable to tell her to account for his time gone.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Sorry for the delay but I've been busy with school. With the seemingly lack of interest and small reviews I seem to be getting this just wasn't very high on my list of things to do. If there seems to be more interest after this chapter I'll try harder to make time to write the next chapter and update much faster. Thanks to Royalty09 for her help with editing and anyone who reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

Lisa awoke with a headache, trying to figure out how she was lying in her own bed. Landon must have moved her at some point, she reasoned, because even if she had been drinking previously, she was positive she had fallen asleep in her Alexis's bedroom, clutching her daughter's favorite stuffed animal. It had been useless trying to suppress her feelings earlier because, as she become more coherent, she remembered how miserable she was. She threw off the blanket Landon had carefully used to cover her and slowly walked down the stairs searching for him.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Landon had all of his papers from work spread out in front of him. The past couple days he seemed to fall behind quickly and was attempting to catch up. Lisa felt guilty suddenly that Landon had done so well keeping himself together while she was still busy falling apart. Though she couldn't be entirely sure how well he really was doing only because she knew one person in this family _had_ to keep it together if they wanted to keep the bills paid.

He had returned to work weeks ago after his searching for Alexis turned up nothing. Here she was unable to get through one day after it had been more than a month. It's not like she even needed to work. As long as Landon was working, his paycheck was more than enough to take care of their expenses. After she met him her job become more of her way of feeling like she was contributing something. And it gave her something to do when Landon was at work and Alexis was at school. That was until the day her daughter never made it home. Now she no longer had the energy to even get out of bed it seemed.

It was true she had let her guard down allowing herself to believe Jackson was finally out of her family's life when the years had passed and she had heard nothing from him. There had been no indication that made her feel like he was even nearby or watching. She had just grown accustomed to their regular, everyday life; the life she had deserved after everything she'd gone through. It was now Lisa began to realize how much she took for granted that Alexis would always come home from school everyday. Years he must have been planning this, just waiting for the right time to act, and it pained her to knew that his plan wouldn't have worked so well if she and her daughter hadn't been fighting so much recently.

Since she realized how their fights helped Jackson, she regretted all the time she spent arguing with Alexis over stupid, pointless things. Things like her homework not being completed right after school, her continuously messy room, and the dishes Alexis never wanted to help with no longer seemed like such a big deal anymore.

As soon as she got Alexis back she was going to work harder on fixing their relationship; the way it had been when they were _both_ younger. She tried hard to remind herself, even if she had no hope of convincing herself completely, that Alexis would come home eventually.

Turning her focus back to what her husband was doing, she stood at the table behind him looking through the papers he had finished with and set aside.

"Sleep well?" Landon asked, finally aware of Lisa's presence in the kitchen.

"Better than usual," Lisa answered, though she knew the reason was most likely the alcohol she had consumed the night before.

"Are you planning on going back to the hotel tomorrow?" Landon asked, glancing towards his wife to gauge her reaction to the question. "I think you should. You spend so much time stuck in this house…afraid you might miss something important. It's not healthy."

He tried his hardest to be supportive of what she must be going through, but at some point it was time to face the facts and move on. He just needed her to see that. Some days he felt like giving up too, but somebody had to keep this family together and the bills paid. He couldn't afford to act like Lisa.

"I want to. I really do." Anything to keep her mind occupied, but it never seemed to work "I waited on a mother and daughter today and Cynthia had to take over because I couldn't complete the transaction," Lisa said, repeating the story to Landon, ashamed of how badly she'd overreacted to the situation. "The worst part is I don't think it would have even mattered that the girl was the same age as Alexis and resembled her. I'm just too easily reminded, and I can't pretend to keep myself together."

"It's not easy for me either Lisa. I loved her too. There comes a point when you have to accept the situation and try to move on. This is no kind of life to be living. Don't let him win. I know you can be stronger than this. I've already lost my daughter; please don't make me lose my wife too."

Lisa listened intently to her husband's words, finally grasping how her sorrow and depression must be affecting him. This wasn't fair to him, he was right. She would try harder to move forward.

"I'm going to try harder for you, Landon."

Landon thought for first time since Alexis went missing that he saw anything resembling a smiling coming from Lisa.

"It will be nice to have the Lisa I know and love come back."

"Do you think she still thinks about me like I think about her? Lisa stated releasing one of her greatest fears. "Or do you think she's forgotten about me."

Landon rose from the table and gathered Lisa in his arms, holding her close. "She could never forget about you," Landon reassured her.

Landon abandoned the kitchen for a more comfortable position on the couch where Lisa joined him. She liked this feeling of Landon's arms around her. It was quite comforting to her when she was upset.

"It'll get easier," he whispered, unsure if he should promise her such a thing.

Though Lisa may not have even heard his promise as he felt her body relax more and her breathing slowed. She may have just woken up, but Landon knew from the many nights of being kept awake by Lisa's mumbling pleas that she wasn't sleeping well and had not gotten a peaceful, uninterrupted night of sleep in a long time. After their much needed talk, she finally seemed to be able to relax enough to sleep well naturally. He wasn't about to disturb her by getting up so he just sat with her, enjoying the way her warm body felt against his.

* * *

Please remember to review and tell me what you think. It really does help and motivate me. :) 


	25. watch this fall away and fall apart

A/N: I tried to update quicker this time so reviews would be nice. :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and Royalty09 for her help with editing.

_

* * *

_

_The distance and my hearts to sand  
Flowing through the hour glass  
Time to let go of all we know  
and break our hearts in stride._

_I need you now more like yesterday  
The last day I could see you smile.  
For the last time turn out the lights  
My life on standby._

_So standby and **watch  
This fall away and fall apart.**_

_Just say that it's over,  
It's over and she's gone._

_Don't worry he said,  
and she's not coming home._

_It's over and she's gone._

_The distance and my hearts to sand  
Flowing through the hour glass.  
I fall to pieces, I can't let go  
Of all the times I never said goodbye._

My Life on Standby - Hawthorne Heights

_One week later _

Since Emily left Alexis found herself feeling quite lonely a lot of the time. She was spending too much time by herself and it was beginning to become very boring. She had begun to miss her Mother and Landon a lot more recently. Jackson had been home a lot more since the day Emily left which Alexis would have liked if she hadn't become so worried about saying the wrong thing to him. Since the other week where he lost his temper Alexis was careful to not do anything that would anger him again. Though Alexis didn't realize that Jackson's main reason for doing this was because he felt he couldn't trust Alexis as much as he originally thought.

She wanted friends to hang out with since Emily had left, but her father kept putting off the school issue saying as soon as he was less busy with work he would take care of it. Besides, it was so late in the school year they probably wouldn't even let her enroll until next year.

It was after dinner that night, after she had finished reading one of the books Jackson had bought for her, that she convinced herself to ask him for something. She was nervous because it involved talking about her mother and he was busy working on something which she had come to learn meant that she wasn't supposed to interrupt him. Cautiously she knocked on the door that led to his study where he spent most of his time since he'd stopped leaving the house for work.

Jackson gathered his papers involving his latest assignment and stuck them in the top drawer before telling her she could come in.

Alexis found herself starting with an apology for interrupting and then a sudden feeling of wanting to leave without asking for what she wanted. She was sure what she wanted was something she would be better off avoiding as it would more than likely make him angry.

"Is something wrong, Alexis?" he asked, curious as to what she was doing. Lately she had seemed to be avoiding him a lot more.

"Yes…I mean no," she answered, still unsure if she should bother him with it.

"Well, which is it?"

"Never mind, it was stupid."

Alexis turned to leave but Jackson got up from his desk and stopped her from closing the door.

"I'm sure it wasn't if you came looking for me."

"It really wasn't that hard. You spend all your time in that study on work," she answered, completely unaware of how bitter she had let herself sound.

"Alexis, if that's what you're worried about I promise it will be different once I finish these last few projects I've been assigned."

"No, that's not it," Alexis answered impatiently.

"Then enlighten me," Jackson said, anxious to get back to work but he didn't want to until he figured out what was wrong with her.

"I want to see Mom," Alexis said, talking faster than normal due to being nervous at how he was going to react.

"You know that's not possible, Alexis. Anything else you want I'll get for you but I can't do that."

"But I miss her. Why can't you two just work out your differences? Why do I have to be stuck in the middle?"

"I thought you understood this. Your mother hates me and would like nothing more than to see me go to jail."

"Can I at least call her then? I want to make sure she knows I'm alright."

"I guess that would be alright," Jackson answered as he went to retrieve his cell phone from his office. "But don't say anything you know you shouldn't."

XXXX

Lisa and Landon had just finished doing the last of their dishes from dinner when the phone rang. Lisa rushed to answer it, still unable to not get her hopes up after all this time.

"Hello."

"Hi, Mom," Alexis said happily.

Lisa almost dropped the phone in surprise and heard Alexis talking again.

"Are you still there?" Alexis thought for a second that maybe her dad's cell phone had lost reception.

"No, I'm here. I'm so glad you called."

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Alexis knew how long it had been since her mother had last heard from her.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because it's been weeks since I called you last," Alexis answered as though her reasoning was clearly obvious.

"I just wish you would come back home. We both miss you here." Lisa knew she was pleading to the wrong person because even if Alexis wanted to come home it would be Jackson she would have to convince.

"I miss you too. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was still okay."

"He's still treating you okay?" Lisa asked. This was her biggest fear everyday she spent wondering about Alexis.

"Yeah, but…"

Alexis hesitated with her answer which made Lisa worry.

"Is something wrong? Is he hurting you?"

"It was just once and it wasn't a big deal," Alexis said, brushing it off. "It really wasn't that big of a deal."

"What happened?" Lisa asked, suddenly becoming anxious and worried again.

"It was my fault really. I made him mad when I helped Emily get back to Miami. I was talking back to him and…"

"Alexis," Jackson said in a way that she made her aware she was getting on to a topic he didn't approve of so she stopped. He didn't like where this conversation was headed but he didn't want to cause Alexis to get suspicious.

"But you're sure you're fine? What were you saying about Emily?" Lisa was suddenly curious since Emily had been missing the same amount of time and she suspected Jackson was involved.

"Yes, Mom I'm totally fine and I helped Emily get back to Miami last week."

"Alexis, I'm not sure what you mean. Emily has been missing just as long as you."

"That's impossible," Alexis responded in shock, suddenly feeling very confused and angry.

"Hang up, Alexis," Jackson ordered. Now he was sure the phone call was going too far. Alexis refused to because she wanted to know exactly what her mom was talking about. Jackson wasn't going to stand for this disobedience from her. He quickly grabbed her hand, the one holding the phone, and twisted it behind her back. Alexis gasped suddenly from the pain but tried not to show it.

"Now, give me the phone," Jackson instructed calmly while Alexis tightened her fingers around the open phone. Though she knew it was a pretty unless attempt on her part since he was stronger and got the phone away from her easily. All she probably succeeded in doing was making him angrier. Having lost the phone, Alexis backed away from her father holding her now throbbing arm.

"Alexis has to go now. Whatever you told her you shouldn't have. It's only just going to cause problems for Alex" Jackson was angry now and planned on dealing with Alexis. She obviously needed another reminder of why she should obey him and his rules. He knew it was a risk letting Alexis call but there was also the risk of her hating him too soon if he said no. Now he was just going to have to speed up his plans.

"Please don't hurt her," Lisa begged. "She's only a child and your daughter." She hoped reminding him of this would stall whatever he was planning to do.

"Bye, Leese," Jackson said, flipping the phone shut and throwing it on the table.

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	26. forgotten memories always come back

A/N: Yay, for finals weeks being over and me having time to finish this. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I appreciate all the feedback so much. Thanks to Royalty09 for her help with editing again.

Not sure when the next chapter will be posted since the interest in my story seems to dying.

_She tries to hide the bruises she says it wasn't him  
But sometimes he looses his temper  
and again he'll come home and look for a fight  
but she tells herself it's alright  
she hopes someday it's alright_

_she doesn't tell anybody but everyone can tell  
that there's something she's hiding, she hasn't been herself  
but she still goes out every night she tells herself it's alright  
she hopes someday it's alright...its alright..its alright..its alright_

_she has to make excuses for all of this abuse  
and it's sad the truth is shes scared of what he'll do  
if she'd ever walk out of his life  
so she tells herself it's alright  
she hopes someday it's alright..it's alright..  
it's alright...it's alright..it's alright...it's alright.._

_She sits and she waits its not getting any better  
it's never too late but she knows its now or never  
she'll get up the strength to stand up to him tonight  
cuz she knows that it's alright_

_She says today she's leaving, she says she's had enough  
sick of being mistreated, she knows that isn't love  
so tonight, she's saying goodbye and she tells herself it's alright  
yea, she knows she's gonna make it tonight  
yea, she's finally going on with her life  
and she knows that it's alright...it's alright...it's alright...it's alright._

_  
She sits and she waits its not getting any better  
it's never too late but she knows its now or never  
she'll get up the strength to stand up to him tonight  
cuz she knows that it's alright  
_Bruises  
x Plain White T's x

* * *

"What exactly were you thinking Alexis?" she heard her father ask as he walked closer to where she was leaning against the wall attempting to remain calm. 

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, cradling her throbbing arm. Alexis knew it was probably best not to provoke her father any further but she just couldn't help it.

"I think you know exactly what I mean." He found himself repeatedly clenching his hands into fists attempting to contain his anger.

"No, why don't you tell me." Alexis answered sarcastically, glaring at her father who had changed so much.

Jackson gave up trying to control his temper. Alexis had pushed him too much; reminding him of her mother. Using the wall Alexis was leaning against, Jackson pushed her against it, using more force than was probably necessary to keep her still.

Alexis was determined to not let him get any enjoyment out of hurting her but the impact caused her to quietly cry out in pain.

"You and your mother have a very big problem with knowing when to shut up."

"At least that's better than your violent temper."

Jackson released one of her arms long enough to slap Alexis across the face. Her cheek immediately stung and she was unable to reach her hand up to her reddening cheek to stop the pain. "You don't learn very fast do you? You may think you're being cute but you really don't want to see me actually get angry."

"Why? Because then you'll hit me some more? Go ahead; I think we already crossed that line."

"You think this is the worse I can do to you? If you were smart you wouldn't be challenging me. Your high school class wasn't the first time I met you Alexis. Did you know that? Actually I think I liked you better when you were little. You were so much more cooperative when you were little and terrified of me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alexis demanded, struggling to get her arms loose from his tight grip. "I didn't even know I had another father until recently."

"It's quite common for people to block out traumatic events. When you were three you had a broken arm right?"

"I fell at the play—"

"No," Jackson cut her off, "it wasn't an accident, that's just what your mother told you because she didn't want to tell you it was her fault." _Technically it was his fault but he wouldn't have had to do it if Lisa listened to him for once. _

Alexis was so confused. What did he mean it was her mother's fault? There was no way her mother was the one who broke her arm. Her mother loved her and did the best job she could raising her. But why would her mother lie about the real reason she broke her arm. Should she really start to believe him now when everything else he had said from the beginning turned out to be a lie?

"My mother never hurt me unlike you are right now." She suddenly felt a huge desire to defend her mother's parenting skills though she knew it wasn't necessary considering the things he had done. "Now could you please let go of me?" she asked, feigning niceness since sarcasm obviously wasn't getting her anywhere.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid, Alexis?"

"Possibly," she said with a smirk, knowing her sarcastic remarks were annoying him.

She saw her father's jaw clench and the pressure on her arms increased but he was very wrong if he thought she would just roll over and obey him. "What did I say about testing me Alexis? Learn to be quiet unless you want another broken arm."

"You wouldn't," Alexis countered, ignoring his threat. But i_n the back of her mind she knew if she pushed him enough he would. After all, he did kill her best friend. He surely wouldn't think twice about breaking bones. _

"I did it once before, I have no problem doing it again."

Jackson grinned, feeling his daughter's body stiffen more under his. Maybe his threat finally sunk in and she'd stop causing him problems, though that was doubtful seeing as how Alexis seemed to have inherited her mother's stubbornness.

Alexis was sure his comment was meant to make her remember something about what happened. He wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. Her own father was trying to scare her into obedience. His comment, as insignificant as it was, triggered something she had buried far back in her memory. She came to the conclusion that she was a terrible daughter. This was the second time she was putting her parents though this type of pain and separation.Part of her felt she deserved all of this for making the decisions that got her into this position.

_She remembered it all now and it explained the nightmares she had been having recently in Miami but was too embarrassed to talk to her mother about. She wondered now if things would have been different if she had been more open with her mother. Preschool had been the start of her miserable school experience. Her mother's constant drilling of rules intended to keep her safe completely left her mind when somebody finally starting giving her attention. _

_Her three year old self was easily deceived with the notion of a missing dog and then he wouldn't take her back home. She was so scared and then her mother showed up later. But it wasn't to rescue her like she had hoped and he just continued to hurt both of them. That night it happened, she could hear arguing down the hall and she put her hands over her ears in an attempt to ignore it. She remembered how the arguing stopped briefly and he came into the bedroom where she was curled up and didn't say anything to her as he dragged her down the hall. _

_All she could remember happening next was the worst pain she ever felt spreading down her right arm. At the time, her three year old self couldn't figure out what terrible thing she had done to deserve this. _

_At least that time she had her mother with her to comfort her and make her feel less scared. It was her mother who had gotten her away safely without any regard for what consequences it was going to cause her. _

_She couldn't believe how easily she had convinced herself in the beginning that she didn't need them anymore or that they deserved this pain for not telling her the truth. And now she may never see them again. As she grew older she let herself forget what had actually happened because it had been easier that way. Growing up, she allowed herself to become far too trusting of other people. She should have never accepted his offer to take her home. She'd still be in Miami if she just walked home. _

"I remember everything now and I think you're a monster."

Jackson frowned, examining his daughter in front of him. "I'm disappointed, Alexis. I was expecting something more creative from you."

"Tell me, _daddy,_ does it make you feel good to beat up on teenage girls half your size. How did it feel to have Emily begging you to stop and to just let her go home? You enjoyed it, didn't you?" she screamed, not actually expecting an answer and not afraid of any kind of consequence for her accusations. It felt good just to feel all of her frustration and anger finally coming out. She wasn't just going to pretend like everything was fine and they were some happy family anymore.

"I do what I have to do to get the job done."

"Oh really," Alexis said, rolling her eyes at her father as she tried to free her arms. She knew this was about more than her not giving the phone back. "And what exactly did Emily do to deserve being killed?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jackson said, attempting to keep one of his acts up and finally letting Alexis go, but still keeping her within his reach.

"That night Emily left, you did something to her. What did you do?"

"I went out for pizza for you and that was all," Jackson said smugly, knowing he had a perfect alibi to cover the time he'd been away.

"You can stop lying to me. My mom told me she never made it back. So something happened to her."

"Maybe something did happen. She's a young girl walking alone at night. That's a dangerous thing to do."

"Especially when there's somebody who is going to be very angry about you blowing their cover, isn't that right _dad_?" Alexis shot back at him angrily. She knew he had something to do with it. She was determined to get him to admit it.

"What exactly are you accusing me of, Alexis?"

"Like you really need me to tell you again. You killed her and you don't even care. All because you were worried she was going to ruin everything for you. Do you ever think about anybody but yourself? "

She didn't want to stay here any longer with him. She wanted to go back to Miami where things made sense but he was conveniently blocking her way to the front door. Alexis grew frustrated that he hadn't moved and stomped on his foot as hard as she could. It wasn't much but the sudden unexpected pain was enough for Alexis to maneuver around him and run towards the door.

"Damn it, Alexis," Jackson yelled, turning to run after her. He caught her wrist as she tried to open the door and pulled her down to the floor. "You really should stop making me mad."

"Why? Going to kill me as well?" Alexis asked as she lay sprawled out on the floor underneath him. "It would be just as easy for you, I'm sure."

"Stop testing me or you'll get your answer."

"Stop lying to me," Alexis shouted, trying to her best to sit up and disregarding his previous threat. She was smart enough at least to realize he would never actually go as far as killing her. There was some reason he wanted her since it obviously wasn't out of love. "Now get up, you're hurting me."

"Well, that depends…are you going to try to run away from me again?"

"No, I'll be good." Alexis was willing to say whatever it took to get her father to let her go whether she meant it or not. She figured if her father could lie to her, why couldn't she do the same?

Satisfied with her answer, Jackson slowly got up and smoothed out his now wrinkled suit.

Alexis continued lying on the ground, attempting to get her breathing slowed down and back to normal. She could see her father was watching her every move and knew she didn't stand a chance at getting back to the door without him stopping her. To try just to fail would only increase his anger. When she finally got the energy to get up, she situated herself at the far end of the couch in the living room furthest away from him.

The silence that followed was deafening. "I want to go to back to Miami," she spoke up quietly, scared of the reaction he may have.

Her father didn't respond even though he was standing nearby, so she tried again, speaking louder this time. "I said I want to go back to Miami where I actually have people who care about me."

"Oh, that really hurts, Alexis," Jackson said with a sardonic grin. "That's not going to happen though. Who says they even want you back? Look at all the pain and suffering you've caused the people you claim to love."

Alexis felt tears threatening to spill down her cheeks and her body began to shake. This was all wrong. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He was her father; she finally found him and he was supposed to love her. That's how it worked.

"Please don't start crying again," Jackson huffed.

Alexis reached up to brush away the stray tears. "Why shouldn't I?" she choked out in between gasping for breath. "I just realized my father, who's supposed to love and care for me, is an abusive murderer and I'm never going to see my real family again. I'm such an idiot. I had really thought you loved me and wanted a relationship. "

"If you would behave like a good little girl, I wouldn't have had to hurt you," Jackson stated calmly, justifying any transgressions on his part.

"That's a lame excuse," Alexis spat back at him. "I've lived with Landon for 16 years and not once has he ever laid a hand on me or my mother. I put him through a hell of a lot more than you too. And you know why, because recently I had decided I wasn't going to listen to him because he wasn't my _real_ father."

"Are you finished now?" Jackson asked, bored with her breakdown. Alexis didn't answer him and he took her silence to mean yes. "Good, now that we have that settled I want you to go to your room and pack your things."

"What? No!" Alexis yelled, finding herself unable to slow down her speech. She sat back further in the couch, crossing her arms against her chest. This could not be happening. Things were bad enough as it was. He already said he wasn't letting her go back to Miami and that was the only place she cared to go. He was obviously just trying to get her further away from her family, making it almost impossible for her to actually get away from him and get home. It didn't matter where he planned on taking her, she decided. He'd bring her home or nowhere at all.

Jackson approached the couch and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. "Alexis, it wasn't a choice, now go pack your things. I'll come get you for dinner later."

Alexis complied only because she knew she wasn't going to win this battle and defying him was only going to make things worse for her. She arrived at her room but, instead of packing, collapsed on her bed, unleashing all the emotions she hadn't been able to show in front of him. She knew she was running out of time and needed to come up with a plan and she needed one fast.

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	27. Chapter 27

A/N: I'm so sorry this is so delayed. I really have no excuse except I lost interest for a little bit and then got busy with school. If you people are still reading please review because I got surgery stuff done to my foot and it would cheer me up. Also your feedback helps me to improve. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to Royalty09 for betaing for me yet again.

* * *

Alexis had no idea how long she had actually been laying on her bed since the confrontation with her father

The sky was beginning to darken outside her bedroom window and Alexis had no idea how long she had actually been laying on her bed since the confrontation with her father.

The fact remained that as long as she was stuck here time no longer mattered. It was just a painful reminder of how long she had been away from her real home. After she had finally calmed down and all of her tears eventually dried up, she tried using the window. Unfortunately, it would not open. Even if she would have been able to break it her father would surely hear and she knew she wouldn't get far on foot before he caught her.

_How could she have been so stupid to think he actually cared for her? Why was he even doing this to her now that she knew the truth? He was bound to get bored with her eventually and she wasn't even going to think what would happen then_.

On top of that, his anger towards her was becoming more and more violent and less controlled. She refused to actually go anywhere with him. Once they left Florida Alexis knew it would be almost impossible to get back home. She needed to find a way to escape before that happened. At the present moment that seemed like an unrealistic goal since he was so much bigger and stronger than her.

After all this had gone through her mind, Alexis finally made herself get up and start packing the clothes she no longer wanted. Anything he paid for while trying to win her affection she had no interest in. Since she had no clothes from home with her she really had no choice in that matter. She was hoping she would be gone by the time they were supposed to leave anyway. Until she actually had a plan she thought it was best to at least try to go along with what he said. That way, he wouldn't think she was planning anything.

It had taken much longer than it normally would, but Alexis had finished packing all of the clothing that was in the first two dresser drawers when Jackson started yelling for her. Maybe if she pretended she didn't hear him he would just go away. Ten minutes later though she heard footsteps in the hallway. Obviously she didn't have that much luck. If only her bedroom door had some kind of lock then she would be able to keep him out. On the bright side, no lock meant he couldn't lock her in either.

_He probably hadn't planned on blowing his cover until they had already left Florida. The place they were going was probably far more secure. Jackson hadn't planned on Emily actually succeeding on getting out of the house and almost ruining his plans. Or her wanting to call her mother again which led her to finding out about it. Since then she sometimes wished she had stayed oblivious. Everything was so much easier that way. _

_Who wants to live with knowing they are responsible for their best friend's death and that there is nothing that can be done to fix things. Now that Emily was gone she would never be able to apologize for all she must have gone through and the fact that Alexis never believed her. On the other hand, he was bound to start acting like this eventually and it was better she found out here than wherever he planned to take her. _

_Emily would want her to get back to Miami even if she was unable to succeed. All the time Emily spent trying to convince her of what was going on and it wasn't until she was gone that she actually had an impact on the situation. At least she was no longer suffering her father's abuse. Sure, she would have preferred that Emily would have made it home, but since she couldn't change that Alexis wasn't about to let her friend die in vain. _

* * *

Jackson didn't even bother knocking on the door this time and just let himself into the bedroom. Alexis was sitting on the floor with a duffel bag open and clothes all over the floor. He couldn't help noticing that Alexis hadn't actually made much progress packing and had succeeded more in making a mess of her usually clean bedroom.

He was only just beginning to appreciate how much she was like her mother when it came to being stubborn. He hadn't realized when he came up with this plan that she would end up being so difficult. Jackson hadn't noticed it when he was pretending to be nice and fatherly because she had no reasons then to defy or disobey him.

As much as he enjoyed hurting Lisa he wondered if Alexis was really worth all of this trouble. He had already been forced to kill someone because of her. Luckily for him, because of his expertise, it would never be traced back to him.

One way or another he would make sure things would go back to the way they used to be once they got away from here. Jackson kicked at the shirts lying on the floor near his feet but quickly disregarded the clothing to direct his attention back to the task at hand.

"Alexis," he began; his annunciation slow and clear. Jackson was working hard to remain calm and composed as she continued to ignore him. Chances were she heard him come in and was choosing to tune him out. One more time he tried to calmly get her attention by only raising his voice slightly. This wasn't like him at all. He should not be having this much trouble with a simple teenager. He was used to being in complete control. People were supposed to be scared of him. She would eventually give in and break her stubborn, brave façade. Regardless of what he had to do to accomplish that.

It was when she ignored him the second time that he decided he wasn't going to give her a choice in whether she wanted to acknowledge him. Grabbing her arm he pulled her to her feet while spinning her around to face him.

Alexis protested, trying to get him to release her arm from his strong grasp. "Let me go. You're hurting me!" It's not like that seemed to matter to him anymore and most likely he was enjoying it, but the plea slipped out regardless.

"You'll look at me when I speak to you next time then." Having made his point, he dropped her arm. As soon as Alexis was free she backed away from him, putting as much distance as she could between them. "I came up here to tell you dinner is ready."

"I'm not hungry." Alexis glared at him, shocked by him having the nerve to expect her to eat a meal with him as though nothing was wrong, as though he was something more than a horrible, terrible person.

"Planning to starve yourself then are you?" Jackson said with a slight laugh, though he wouldn't allow that to happen as it would spoil all of his fun.

"It would be better than having to stay with you"

Jackson couldn't resist how easily Alexis allowed herself to be cornered. At least Lisa was better at fighting him.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Alexis."

There wasn't much distance left between them now and his sarcasm was more than evident to her.

She knew he didn't actually care about her feelings and she didn't appreciate his mocking. Alexis wasn't comfortable with him getting this close, but there wasn't anyway out of the room other than the door located behind him.

Alexis felt her body hit the wall behind her before she felt her fathers' hands tightly encircling her wrists. It was clear that almost anything she did might set him off.

"I thought we had come to an understanding. Let me make myself clearer. If I tell you to do something you do it without arguing with me. Right now it's time for dinner and you will join me. Do you understand?"

There was a part of Alexis' body that was begging her to make the pain stop and just agree with him. Then there was the stubborn part, the part that didn't want to appear weak, didn't want her to give in so easily.

"Yes…yes I'm sorry." Alexis had to face the fact that he would always be able to last longer than she could withstand the pain. Logically, she knew she should try to be complaint so he didn't keep getting angry with her. That's what he wanted though and she would try everything before giving in. Eventually she feared he would get too caught up in the moment and not be able to stop.

Jackson released her wrist happy with her submissive answer and left the room like nothing happened. Alexis stared at her wrists, rubbing them to soothe the pain. It disgusted her that she had to act so docile to avoid both his temper and physical harm. She was tired of living in a place where she was in constant fear of being injured or harmed. This wasn't any kind of life for her.

* * *

Alexis slowly made her way downstairs to the table and found that Jackson had already put food on her plate. Her stomach rumbled signifying at the sight. She actually was hungry regardless of what she'd told him. It didn't help that it smelled good too. The only reason he even wanted her to eat was so he could control her.

Jackson could clearly see the start of bruises on her wrists when Alexis took her seat across from him. He realized he wouldn't be able to travel anywhere with her if she had a whole bunch of bruises he couldn't hide. There were only so many excuses one could come up with to explain away injuries. The last thing he wanted or needed was somebody becoming suspicious when they tried to leave. He already would have to deal with anyone possibly recognizing her but it had been months. People were so caught up in their own lives they probably had all but forgotten about her by now.

Alexis could feel Jackson watching her, waiting for her to eat as she casually knocked the full plate with her elbow. It didn't have far to fall before it shattered against the tile floor. If her father wanted her to come to dinner, fine, but that didn't mean she was going to join him in eating no matter how hungry she felt.

Jackson eyed the plate now shattered into tiny pieces on his once clean floor. He actually managed to control his instinct to yell and physically lash out at her. What was it going to take to actually get her to listen to him? Just a second ago, she had agreed to behave for him and then turned around and done this. Soon he was going to have to do something drastic to get her to take him seriously. He refused to put up with a stubborn teenager who tried to get her own way all the time.

"Clean it up, Alexis."

"No!" Alexis got up to leave the table after having made her opinion of eating with him clear. She might have succeeded if she had been faster but Jackson stood up as well and reached out to grab her small arm, holding it in vice like grip.

"Get your hand off of me!" She uselessly pulled at the hand encompassing her arm. She may have no choice in staying with him but she was not going to let him control her every movement and decision.

"Feeling brave now, aren't we? That's a change from earlier." Eventually she would stop trying to fight him. Jackson cracked a fragile smile, thinking about how Lisa always acted around him. She wasn't one to be intimidated either, but he knew, unlike Lisa, Alexis was much younger and could only play at indifference. He tightened his grip as he felt Alexis trying to pull away. "I'll even be nice and give you another chance to clean up the mess you made."

"Clean it up yourself. You're the one that wanted me to come to dinner." Alexis could see her father getting angrier, but she refused to back down. Her head roughly jerked to the side as Jackson used his free hand to strike her across the face.

A small whimper escaped her mouth and Alexis become more desperate to get away from his abusing hands. She kicked blindly with one leg, hoping at some point to hit him hard enough to pain and force his hand. Jackson sidestepped every one of her attempts which only discouraged her more.

Growing bored, he let go of her arm and pushed her down to the floor. Her hands and knees painfully scraped against the broken glass as her body collided with the unforgiving ground.

"Things wouldn't be this way if you would just learn to listen to me, Alexis," he scolded, justifying any wrong doing on his part.

"You may even go back to enjoying living with me like at the beginning if you tried."

She laughed at the thought. "Maybe, if I was masochistic…."

Her now aching body only allowed her to move slowly to her feet and her father wasn't offering her any help. She managed to get halfway up before Jackson used his foot to push her down again.

Alexis moaned and clutched her side from where she collided with the floor the second time. "You can leave once you clean up this mess."

Did he really think she could ever just forget everything? How could he even think she would ever be able to view him as a father figure after all he had done? It could never go back to the family situation she had always imagined and even enjoyed at the beginning of this. Everything back in Miami was lost and it was her fault for ever trusting him.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: I know it's been a really long time since I updated and if anybody is still reading please leave a review. I would really appreciate the feedback. Also I'm looking for a beta since I haven't heard back from the person who normally does it for me.

I promise that the next update will be up very shortly.

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After twenty minutes of cleaning Alexis finally dumped the last bit of glass from the floor into the trash can. She hadn't wanted to give into his demand that she be the one to clean up the mess but she really didn't have a choice. She had known all along what the outcome would be if she tried to keep defying him. She'd be in a lot more pain than she already was and would still be expected to clean up the mess before going to bed.

I have to do something, though, she thought. I have to find some way of changing his mind or at least making him put his guard down long enough for me to get away. An idea quickly crossed her mind and though she hated what she would have to do.

She had to win back his trust. As soon as he trusted her like he previously had she would have more freedom. More freedom would mean that she would eventually be left alone long enough to leave the house by herself and never come back.

Taking a deep breath Alexis knew what she had to do. As much as she hated her new plan it was all she had to work with right now. Walking through the house Alexis kept her ears opened for her father's voice. It was very important that he believe that she was very sorry for her behavior tonight and it wouldn't happen again.

Alexis continued walking down the hallway from the kitchen towards her father's study and stopped dead in her tracks when she heard yelling. It was amazing her how much just her father's voice could strike fear into her now when he had been so sweet and caring in the beginning.

As long as her father didn't know she was there maybe she should at least see what she could hear. Any information she could find out could be important for her to know later.

"What don't you understand about I can't wait that long!"

"No, I want the documents delivered tomorrow. She is becoming more difficult and I need to move right away."

What kind of documents could her father possible be talking about? If he wanted them by tomorrow that meant she didn't have much time to make her plan work and leave. Maybe this wasn't the best time to try talk to her father.

Alexis silently weighed her options in her head before summing the courage to knock on her father's door.

Jackson's head jerked towards the door to find the source of the noise. "Look, I'm going to have to call you back later my daughter's here."

"Alexis, you are supposed to be cleaning up the mess you made in the kitchen"

Alexis suddenly felt uneasy under her father's stare. "I..um..I..I"

"Yes" Jackson interrupted her already seeming to become impatient.

_Pull it together Alexis. You can do this. _

"I finished. I just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry for earlier. It won't happen again." Alexis hoped that her voice didn't betray her and sounded convincing enough. "I promise" she added in quickly incase the first part wasn't enough.

"I'm glad you've changed your mind. We'll just see how long that lasts though" Jackson wasn't very convinced that Alexis could have had such a complete turnaround so fast. Maybe tomorrow would be a good time to see how loyal to him she actually was.

It had been weeks since Lisa had gotten to hear from Alexis and there had been no mention in the news of Emily's death. She thought about going to the police but what exactly could she say really other than I know that a missing girl is dead. What could they possibly do with that information? She hadn't even told Emily's parents yet. Without a body or any other helpful information she wasn't sure if it was fair to ruin their hope. Right now, the hope that Alexis would eventually come home was all that was keeping her going. She wasn't going to rob another family of that until there were more concrete details for them to actually have closure.

The fact that Jackson was so experienced at this sort of thing just made her worry more about Alexis' safety. She didn't think he would go through with killing his own daughter but he had shown a long time ago that he had no qualms with physically hurting her. Now as a teenager she was a whole lot more stubborn and difficult than she had been at three when she had terrified of him. There was no telling what Jackson would do if she made him angry. That small fact didn't seem to make the situation any better. What she needed to do was to find her daughter. She belonged with her, at home, where she had a loving family that missed her. She was nothing more than a piece of property to Jackson. The problem was she had no clue where to even start, especially considering the level of experience Jackson possessed in staying hidden.

With limited experience and no starting point to go on Lisa was determined to do the only thing she could think of at this point. Jackson may currently be winning at this little game of his but Lisa wasn't going to make it easy for him any longer. She was determined to make sure Alexis got back into the news and make her face recognizable to everybody. Even if it didn't help her get Alexis back home right away she would at least be making things harder for Jackson and reassure Alexis if she saw any of it that they weren't planning on giving up. She and Landon would keep looking until the day Alexis finally came home where she belonged.

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	29. No turning back

A/N: Please review if you read. I appreciate any feedback.

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After Alexis had gone to bed, Jackson spent the rest of the evening trying to come up with the perfect way of testing his daughter's supposed new found loyalty. Since Alexis' change in her behavior and her urgency to want to go home Jackson had very rarely left her alone enough that she would be capable of leaving.

This was slowly starting to become more complicated than he wanted or even anticipated. How could Lisa stand raising this kid for all these years? He needed to find a way to get in control again. Not just in the physical sense he had to find a way that she didn't even want to think about leaving him even if he wasn't around. So far he had been close enough that Alexis didn't even dare let the thought pass her mind for fear of the consequences.

What he was doing right now was clearly not something he could keep up with for the rest of his life nor did he want to. Not if he ever planned on going back to work fulltime. His idea of the future definitely didn't include spending all of his time monitoring his daughter's whereabouts. His only other option was to return Alexis back to Miami and that wasn't going to happen.

Making Lisa happy was certainly not part of his plan. He didn't go through all of this trouble just to give up now. He had dealt with situations and clients that were much more difficult. Surely he could get his own teenage daughter under control.

Right now his employers may not have any trouble with him spending so much time working at home planning things, but eventually they were going to want to see some action. He was after all one of the best employees that they had and didn't want lose him. Come tomorrow morning he would return to work and find out for sure how worried he should be about Alexis.

Hopefully she possessed more common sense than her mother ever did.

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In the morning Jackson made a few important phone calls to put his plan into place and then went through his normal routine of getting ready for work. He hoped to be gone before Alexis woke up so he didn't have to come up with a reason why he was suddenly leaving her alone.

Jackson wasn't stupid and knew not to expect much from this little experiment of his. Right now he was sure he could predict how this was going to end. She was going to be foolish like her mother and anger him. Maybe by the end Alexis would see that he was not somebody to cross. He didn't care whether he was technically her dad or not there would be consequences for breaking the rules.

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Alexis didn't sleep much anymore. She went through the motions every night but it never got any better. It didn't matter how many times she tried to convince herself it was all going to be okay it didn't change anything. That morning it took her an hour to get out of bed. She was slowly losing any energy or determination that she once had. He was winning and he was always going to win. He was bigger, stronger, and held all of the power. She was never going to get back home.

When she first started walking down the stairs to the kitchen area she immediately noticed something was different. The house was completely quiet. There were none of the typical sounds that she had grown used to. Even as she stepped into the kitchen she heard no footsteps or her father's voice which was unusual since he spent most of his day on the phone arranging plans for things she did not want to know about. Alexis couldn't believe that her father would have left her alone; her acting couldn't have been that good, could it? No, she just hadn't found him yet.

She checked every room twice before she allowed herself to think that maybe this was the moment she had been waiting for. Everything that she was planning on doing once she got back to Miami started rushing through her head until she realized she needed to stop. She had learned pretty quickly that it was useless to get her hopes up. What she should be focusing on right now was getting out of her and back to Miami. Taking the stairs two at a time Alexis grabbed a small backpack that she filled with a jacket, extra clothes, water and some food.

Unlike the inside of her house that was much different than normal the outside of her house was just as she remembered it. Alexis started running towards the woods that surrounded her father's property before she stopped abruptly.

_Turn back now… _

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

_It isn't too late… _

If she did this and she got caught she was sure it wouldn't end well and she was sure that she would never be able to get her father to trust her.

He hadn't gone too far yet but she also hadn't done anything this stupid yet either. Maybe she should turn around and pretend like nothing happened, but she might never have this chance again. She was never going to get back to her family if she kept being afraid of her father. Hopefully she was making the right choice and she would find help before he even realized she was missing.

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It was early morning when Lisa rolled out of bed trying her best not to wake Landon.

Her muscles ached from walking all over nearby and far away towns hanging posters and talking to people about her missing daughter. She had taken some time off of work to help renew the search for her daughter since the police weren't too concerned about a teenager who was missing.

"And where are you planning on going today?"

"Oh you're awake" Lisa said with a hint of disappoint in her voice. She was hoping to avoid this before leaving. "I haven't decided yet but I won't be gone long this time."

Lisa noticed how Landon's face fell and was marked with his own disappointment that she was yet again leaving him. "I promise"

"You know I bet the hotel could really use their manager actually being there on a regular basis."

Lisa could feel her heart beating faster and her face getting warmer. If he hadn't been so far away she was sure that she would have slapped him. "I am trying to find Alexis! You may be okay with moving on with your life and pretending it didn't happen but I can't. I have to make sure she knows at least one of us is looking for her."

They had some arguments over the subject but everyone involved never truly said how they felt. Landon threw the covers off the bed and got up to face Lisa.

Lisa could see her husband clenching and unclenching her fist. It was same thing Jackson did when he was angry and trying to control his actions. She was sure that Landon wasn't like Jackson. He may feel angry and want to hit her but she knew he wouldn't actually go through with it.

"Don't you dare insinuate that I don't love her."

"I never said that." Lisa said so quietly she wasn't sure if he had heard her.

"Some of us can't allow ourselves to completely break down every chance they get or spend all of their time looking for her."

Lisa was crying now and for some reason Landon couldn't seem to care. She needed to hear how he felt. This wasn't all about her. She wasn't the only one who had lost someone. He allowed her time to grief and be depressed but now it had been close to two years and it was time for her to establish some kind of normalcy.

"Somebody in this family has to make money to pay the bills. I could go out with you and then when they start turning off things like the water and the electricity we can write them notes instead. Explain that we don't have any money because we spent so much time looking for our daughter. Do you think they would really care Leese?" Landon wasn't sure what happened but he just couldn't stop yelling at her. He might not have carried Alexis like Lisa did and Alexis might not have any of his DNA but he was hurting just as much as Lisa.

Lisa could feel the tears running down her cheek. "Stop..please just stop" Her anger at Landon had quickly changed to a deep sadness because she knew Landon was right. "I'm sorry, Landon. I'm sorry that I'm never home with you. I'm sorry that I can't find our daughter and I'm sorry that it's consuming my whole life."

How did their marriage ever get this way. It didn't used to be like this when Alexis first went missing.

_Landon remembered the first night he meet Lisa. His friends had dragged him out claiming he worked too much and he needed to have some fun. Lisa was standing over by the wall with another girl. She was gorgeous and was smiling at something that was just said. It turns out that her friend had dragged out her that night for the same, exact reason. I tried to talk to her and she was very shy or maybe she just wasn't very trusting of guys after I found out about her past. I touched her hand to try to get her to dance with me and she instantly pulled it back towards her. I had thought that she was going to slap me then for being so forward but she didn't. She actually apologized saying she was a little jumpy around new people and wasn't really interested in a relationship right now. It was her friend that was with her that pushed her forward and I heard Lisa's friend whisper something about being really cute. I'm sure my face turned bright red but if she noticed she didn't say anything. She was a good dancer and at the end of the night I really wanted to see her again but she refused to give me her number. So I gave her mine in case she changed her mind. Which she obviously did but maybe he should be thanking her friend Cynthia. He was sure she was responsible for the nudge to call him back. _

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. But can't you see this isn't healthy. This isn't any kind of way to live. There's nothing wrong with never wanting to stop searching for her but it shouldn't be consuming ever hour of your day. Landon sat back down on the bed feeling much better now that he got everything out that he was bottling up. He motioned for Lisa to come over to the bed with him.

"What if he's hurting her, Landon and I can't do anything to stop it. She can be really stubborn sometimes and I worry that Jackson will eventually snap. Landon I know what he's capable of and it scares me. He'll snap and she won't ever come home. I worry all the time that's she's hungry, or cold or in pain."

"We're going to find her. She's going to be alright." Landon reassured her pulling her into his embrace and letting her rest her head on his chest. Landon resolved that the first thing he would do after they found Alexis was kill Jackson. He was going to make sure it was a long, painful death just like their never ending pain and heartache.

"I shouldn't have to be worrying about things like this. I should be helping her plan her graduation party. I should be worrying about whether she's picking the right school and whether she'll do okay away from home for the first time."

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Alexis hurried through the woods hoping that eventually she would come upon the main road. She wondered if this was how Emily attempted to escape. Maybe she was scared of getting lost and followed the long driveway instead. Whichever way Emily came she knew Jackson had found her at some point and she was hoping she could succeed where Emily did not. She was one, the only one who could convince the police to go look for Emily's body. She owed it to her friend to do this for her. She wanted to get as much land covered as possible before she was discovered missing which meant she was not stopping for anything. Alexis realized as she was walking that she really had no plan. Her only goal at the time had been to get somewhere that people could help her and return her home. There had to be cars that traveled that main road. Surely she would be able to find someone willing to stop to help a young girl.


End file.
